It's My Ending
by SoftNoodle
Summary: CU. OOC. SessKagNar. In the aftermath of the hunt for the jewel shards, all is not well. Kagome undergoes strange changes in exchange for the happiness of her friends. Her own happiness would be found in the most unexpected of places.
1. Chapter 1

SM: Hey check it out! I'm not dead! Hahahahah!

Enjoy this strange bit of writing that has been sitting on my harddrive for a while! Ah...this is something random I wrote while high on caffeine. This is plotless, makes no sense, and will randomly switch moods. This was never made to have a point. It was just an idea that popped into my head while chugging too many sodas and coffee. Being the genius that I was, I decided to not take it seriously, and thus birthed this monstrousity. I did have a lot of fun writing it though...

I guess that's all I can say, except for a few more warnings. Rabid OOCness and it's probably a SessKagNar fic. Dunno which pairings going to win though. I simply put it in the NarakuKagome category because the story will revolve around them, but the final pairing will change as is my wanting. Heh heh heh. This is highly subject to be utterly random...you've been warned.

Summary: CU. OOC. In the aftermath of the hunt for the jewel shards, not everything is well. Kagome undergoes strange changes in exchange for the happiness of her friends. Her own happiness would be found in the most unexpected of places.

**It's My Ending**

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**Chapter One**

It was strange. Kagome couldn't help it as she stared down at the Shikon jewel resting innocently in the palm of her hand. She hadn't thought that she would have felt so different, but now...It was like an emptiness. She didn't feel particularly sad or anything, just numb. Sure she was happy, but that pleasant warm feeling that accompanied her when she thought about her inu-hanyou companion had evaporated. She realized then, that she had been successful. A half-smile gracing her lips Kagome strung the Shikon no Tama onto a beaded cord, much like it had been in the past, and tied it around an arrow.

Imbuing the arrow with a particular spell, she carefully strung her bow and took aim. She relaxed as she let the arrow fly, and with it, a calming sense seemed to descend upon her. She could feel the ripples in her powers as the arrow hit it's target, sealing the Shikon no Tama to the Goshinboku. A barrier formed around the tree and the jewel, masking it's power. Only a person with the truest of intentions and the purest of hearts would be able to approach the Goshinboku now. Hopefully, the barriers power would protect Kaede's village as well. Once the person was found who could approach the tree, a most pure wish could be made, and the tama would finally fade from the world. Kagome had concluded long ago, that as long as her heart was clouded by the secret desires conflicting within her soul, she would never be able to make a pure wish. It saddened her to learn that she had lost her innocence in the long battle against Naraku.

The dark hanyou had been defeated, but during the battle, Kagome had experienced such a pain emanating from the hanyou, she couldn't bring herself the deliver the finishing blow. Instead, she had merely sealed his powers and his soul. She had tied the spider's soul to herself, effectively turning herself into Naraku's incarnate. The spider's scar had been branded onto her back, much to her surprise. She had only tried to protect her friends. Killing Naraku had seemed so easy in the beginning. He was the bad guy, and they were the good guys. They would defeat the bad guy and bring peace to Japan. Somewhere along the way, things had become so much more complicated...

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There was a yearning in Naraku's heart, one that he had tried to destroy. All youkai had a shred of humanity in them, no matter how deeply buried, and the spider's soul screamed in pain. As Kagome had aimed an arrow at the hanyou's form, the one clear shot the others had so desperately fought to give Kagome, she had been overcome by the shriek of pain. Almost losing herself in the agony of the other, Kagome's intents on the arrow changed. When the arrow struck Naraku, he vanished, and in Kagome's ears rang the soft sound of a single drop splashing into a pond. Unsure of what it meant, she took a step forward to get a closer look at where Naraku had stood when a searing pain shot across her back. Thin lines of fire lanced across her flesh, spreading out to form the obscene mark borne by all those whom had fought against the Inu-tachi. Kagome screamed and for a moment, she imagined a second, much deeper voice joining hers, before she faded into oblivion.

When Kagome awoke, she found her companions all clustered around her, worried looks on their faces. She smiled and attempted to sit up, trying to reassure her friends, but discovered that her body had been bound and she was immobile. Confused and feeling a little betrayed, she looked questioningly at the faces of her friends. Each one looked away.

"What?" She asked, then started. Her voice! It didn't sound like her. The timbre of her voice had deepened slightly, and she couldn't remember the last time it had ever rolled out so smoothly and effortlessly before. It wasn't the voice of high school student!

At the widening of her eyes, Miroku finally met her gaze. "Are you Kagome?" He asked, so softly that at first Kagome hadn't been sure of what he was asking.

"Yes!" She cried out. What was going on! Why weren't they looking at her. What happened?

The houshi seemed to shift uncomfortably. Sango, her best friend and sister in the feudal era held back a choked sound. Shippo was no where to be seen. And Inuyasha, the hanyou that had always protected her, now glared down her, his eyes masked by an unknown emotion, but Kagome didn't like it.

"What's going on!" She all but screamed, the alien voice ringing in her ears. What happened!

The corners of his mouth tugging downward, Miroku extended a hand and pointed to Kagome's own wrists. Ofuda! But..ofuda only worked against demons. She was no youkai, she...Kagome's eyes began to water uncontrollably. "I don't understand. What...?"

"Kagome, what happened?"

Kagome's eyes darted back to meet the houshi's. Why was he asking her this? She was just as confused. "I...I don't know. The last thing I remember, I shot an arrow at Naraku and...he disappeared. Then my back started to burn and I fainted. Then I wake up and I'm sealed by ofuda. Miroku, please, tell me what's going on!"

Miroku flinched as she spoke his name. Kami, it was hard. It was so hard to look into her face and see the Kagome that they traveled with, but to know, it wasn't her anymore. "Kagome," he said, his voice straining to push the name out, "you aren't yourself. What were your last thoughts when you fired your arrow?"

"I felt a pain. He was hurting...hurting so very badly. I pitied him." Kagome admitted slowly. "I just wanted to give him peace..."

Miroku frowned. She sounded just like Kagome. "You...tried to purify him, Kagome, and you failed. He lives."

Kagome's eyes widened. After all they had been through, she failed! She had let them down. Her eyes shaded, and she looked away. An unwanted tear trickled down her face. "I'm so sorry..." She turned her head to face Miroku again. "But..why am I?"

"Kikyou saw your tainted arrow." Inuyasha cut in suddenly. "She said that you were unable to purify him because you harbored a dark emotion toward him in you. That caused your arrow to fail." His voice was flat and toneless, but biting in the emotion it lacked.

Anger bubbled up suddenly in Kagome. "Who is she to call it **tainted**!" She snapped. "She is an undead priestess, parasiting off the souls of innocent girls so that she may continue a non-existent life!" Kagome yelled, the syllables rolling off her tongue uncontrollably. Emotions she had kept tightly hidden surged to the surface. She was so angry. It wasn't fair! It just wasn't damn fair! Why was it always her that had to lose? She was being selfish, she knew it, but it wasn't fair!

She strained against her bonds, wanting to escape, wanting to leave. It was always "Kikyou this" and "Kikyou that" with Inuyasha! "Kagome" never entered the equation. "LET ME GO!" She screamed. "I want to GO!" Then she saw the looks of her companions. Their eyes had become hooded as they refused to meet her eyes. As abruptly as the anger had appeared, it vanished.

After a pause, Inuyasha turned his head to stare down at her again. "Kikyou said that you'd betrayed us with your last arrow. You didn't kill Naraku. Miroku's kazaana is gone, but Naraku still lives." His amber eyes narrowed as he pushed his face to within a few inches of hers. "He lives within you." He hissed.

Taken aback, Kagome could only gape. "I...what...? Me? No, I..." Her mind reeled back remembering her emotions as she faced the wounded hanyou. His crimson eyes bore down on her, challenging her powers against his. The Shikon was already lost to him, he knew that, but at least, he wanted to take her down with him. He wanted to destroy her and her happiness. It wasn't fair! It was in that moment that she had felt the soul searing pain.

Naraku had been human, only to live a disgusting and depraved life. He gave up everything, sold his soul to demons for the power to conquer his lusts, and he still lost. Kagome had seen into his soul and swam in its murky depths. The hanyou had been crying inside. In that single moment, when the arrow left her bow, she had sympathized with Naraku, and the intents on her arrow changed.

She turned her head to the side. She understood now. To them, she was the NEW Naraku. A threat not yet, but they feared she would be warped by his darkness. It hurt. The feeling of betrayal crashed down on her like an unrelenting wave of despair. A cold feeling tingled down her spine and spread its numbing energy to her limbs. The ofuda tying her down exploded into nothings in an icy flame. She stood slowly, ignoring the shocked looks of her companions. Not even Inuyasha could break through Miroku's ofuda with such ease.

"I understand." She said slowly, her eyes staring at her feet. "It's ok, I won't bother you again." Then she was off, sprinting toward Inuyasha's forest with inhuman speed, trying to outrace her own emotions.

She collapsed by a nearby river. Tears blurring her vision, she halted, and peered down at her reflection. She gasped at what she saw. Sharp fangs glittered in her mouth as she gasped. Her large eyes had tinted a bright crimson. Her hair had grown longer than it had ever been before, flowing past her waist in silky, wavy locks. Her blunt, human fingertips had sprouted long curved claws. She started at her reflection in horror. Her friends had been right to fear her, she had become a hanyou. In a moment of mind-numbing fear, she turned her back to the waters reflection and lifted the back of her shirt, fearing what she would find. A neat and elegant spider had been branded across her back.

"No..." Tears sprang into her now crimson eyes. "Oh Kami what's happened to me? Was it wrong to pity him? I just didn't want to hurt anymore. Kami, I...I've failed them all..."

A soft chuckle echoed near her. Kagome looked up to see Kikyou standing on the opposite back. She regarded her incarnate warily. "What do you want Kikyou? You've already turned all my friends against me. What more do you want?" She questioned softly, her spirit already broken by the unexpected turn of events.

Kikyou graced her reincarnate with a cold smile. "A hanyou now. Impure of both races. How utterly fitting for you, reincarnate." She said frostily. "I just came to see how you have faired. You seem well."

Kagome bared her newly acquired fangs. "Well! I seem well? I guess so, compared to an undead, I am pretty well. Just peachy, thank you." She retorted.

The grin slipped from the former miko's lips. Her brown eyes narrowed before she regained her composure, her features smoothing out into a pseudo-serenity. "You would rather I told them the truth? You forget, reincarnate, I am still the bearer of a fraction of the soul we share. I could feel every tremor of your warring heart. I sensed the moment your heart wavered. You felt for the hanyou. In that crucial instant that would have destroyed him, your heart wavered and you spared him by sacrificing your body." Brown eyes studied the new form of Kagome. "You became the tortured hanyou in his place and his soul has been housed within you as well. But," Kikyou smirked maliciously, "a body was never meant to house two souls. The conflicting desires between them will drive you mad and you will destroy yourself. I'll be sure to watch the event."

A low growl was released from Kagome's throat before she realized it. Unfamiliar instincts fought with hers, demanding she eliminate the threat. She bit back a warning growl as she felt it well up at the base of her throat. "Fine, I'm going to die. It wasn't something I was unaware of. I entered this battle fully ready to give myself up if I could save my friends. Apparently..." She choked back a sob, "I was able to protect them. I didn't expect this to happen, but...I can deal with it."

"Denial is never a good thing, reincarnate."

"Stop calling me that! Is it so hard to call me by my name?"

"I refuse to acknowledge you, reincarnate. You are just a copy of myself, though a living one at that." The glint of envy which flashed through Kikyou's eyes did not go unnoticed by her living counterpart. Kikyou's eyes hardened immediately. "Don't pity me, reincarnate. I have no need for your pity." Her hands tightened around the bow she held at her side. "If I was assured that my soul would return to me and not flee into the waiting afterlife, I would slay you here and now, reincarnate." She promised venomously.

Startled by the change in tone, Kagome stood from her crouch on the rivers bank. It was an empty threat she realized. Kikyou was lonely. So terribly lonely and jealous. She had no purpose now. Naraku had been sealed within Kagome's own body, and now, Kikyou could only wander aimlessly, pining for a life she had been deprived of. It was a life full of love and happiness that Kikyou deserved, Kagome knew. Kikyou had been such a pure and strong priestess, burdened with a task that nobody would have wanted. It made her into something more of a woman, and yet less. She was graced with a power that would have dictated the rest of her life, a life she did not want. But Kikyou was honorable and selfless, and dedicated her life to the task, with her dying breath.

Kikyou hissed as the emotions flowed through Kagome. "Cease that, reincarnate. I have no need for your pity." She replied coldly.

But Kagome could see. Kikyou had not yet left, she could have so easily faded back into darkness. The priestess was unsure now, she was confused, and above all, so lonely. With a single bound, Kagome crossed the river effortlessly. She clasped up the dead miko's cold hands in hers. Kikyou regarded her suspiciously.

From Kagome's hands, the Shikon appeared. It had never left Kagome, even after the transformation into a hanyou. When Naraku's soul had joined hers, the Shikon followed, wanting to be home again, within Kagome.

The instant the jewel came in contact with Kikyou's hands, it turned a pitch so dark as to have been unrecognizable. Kikyou appeared mildly surprised. "So, I have indeed lost my powers..." She said softly, as to herself.

"You can be just a woman now, Kikyou. I'll give it to you, but I want you to love Inuyasha in return. He deserves nothing less." Kagome requested gently. She only wanted them to be happy. Inuyasha loved Kikyou with all of his heart, promising to join her in death, in hell. He might not have returned Kagome's feelings, but she would make sure that Kikyou would love Inuyasha, just as much.

Kikyou glared. "You know not of what you ask. The hanyou...my emotions for him are lost to me. I am an undead." She replied, stating her true form bitterly.

Kagome drew the unresisting woman into a hug, one of the most heartfelt embraces Kikyou would ever feel. "I understand, but I'll give you everything you need, and more, Kikyou. I just want you to be happy."

An unfamiliar emotion surged through the lifeless body. Was it guilt? "Why?" Kikyou asked, her voice cracking for the first time.

"You two deserve nothing less." Kagome replied. It was clear, her duty. She should have never wavered in the first place. She didn't belong here, messing up the lives of others. She would fix everything. They would be happy. And she would take her pain, their pain, and leave. She pressed the Shikon into Kikyou's hands once more, a warm energy flowing from Kagome, through the Shikon, and into Kikyou's cold body.

Kikyou closed her eyes. Warmth. Something she had missed the feeling of in her state. It was soothing, comforting. Her body fell limp in Kagome's embrace, fatigue taking over the miko's body. "Live happily, Kikyou." Kagome's soft voice echoed through Kikyou's mind as she lost consciousness.

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When Kikyou awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she felt. She could actually feel. The dewy grass beneath her body. The chilly air on her skin. The sensations she had long ago lost since being revived had returned to her. Her flesh was pliant and warm. Her breath, moist in the air. She almost giggled with joy. Then her heart skipped a beat. She felt so warm and happy. And she knew where she had to go. Snatching up her bow, she hiked up her hakama's in an unladylike fashion, and dashed through the forest.

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After Kagome had disappeared, the rest of the Inu-tachi returned to Kaede's village, feeling somewhat more depressed and empty than before.

Miroku and Sango were questioning if they had made the right choice, after all, Kagome was Kagome. She would never have been weak enough to have succumbed to Naraku's power. Plus the kazaana was gone. Was that not proof enough that Naraku no longer lived? Inuyasha however, stood steadfast in his belief that Kikyou would not lie to him. Kikyou had always been there for him...but that wasn't true, it had always been Kagome. But Kikyou, loved him, didn't she? She had to. And he loved her back. He promised to be there, to protect her. Kikyou was the most important person in his life, and Kagome...Kagome was just a dear friend. A very important friend, a person very close to his heart...

Inuyasha's mind was still in turmoil by the time they reached Kaede's hut. The elderly miko was inside preparing a broth. At her inquiries about the missing miko, the three shared guilty glances, before Inuyasha stated, in a less than eloquent manner, the events that transpired. Kaede dropped the ladle she held, her remaining eye widened in shock. "Please, tell this old woman that ye did not truly let her go?" She asked in a pained voice.

Inuyasha shrugged. "What else can we do? I can't track her now, but if she gets within a mile of this village, I'll know." He said, mistaking Kaede's shock for worry about the village's safety.

Sango and Miroku however, faltered, staring at the elderly miko, fearing the worst.

"Kaede-sama, is there something else?" Miroku asked, his voice cracking.

"The poor child should not have been left alone. The dark energy within her is harmless to all but herself. If she harms anyone, it will be only her." Kaede said slowly and regretfully. "She sacrificed herself in pitying the dark hanyou. Kagome is a sweet child, unable to murder in cold blood. She has the gift to see the good in all, and she must've seen it in that hanyou."

Inuyasha's ears twitched. "But Kikyou said..."

Kaede turned to the inu-hanyou and held up a hand, shaking her head sadly. "Ye was lied to, Inuyasha. Kagome is not an impure soul. If she had been, her body would have rejected the Shikon and be unable to purify it, but instead, it absorbed it along with the hanyou, Naraku. She is the guardian of both now, and she is at her weakest now."

"Kikyou wouldn't..." Inuyasha tried to protest, but his feeble attempts were ignored.

"WE LET HER GO OUT! ALONE AND IN PAIN!" Sango all but shrieked. She knew she should never have believed the ex-priestess, but for the sake of Kagome, she had believed Inuyasha. Kagome had asked Sango to give Inuyasha and Kikyou a chance, and Sango had tried to take her words to heart. Guilt welled up bitterly within the woman. She betrayed her best friend and sister for...for people undeserving of the gift of Kagome's kindness.

Sango angrily strapped Hiraikotsu to her back. "I'm going to look for her!" She declared, ready to stomp out of the hut in a desperate search for her friend. A gentle hand on her shoulder halted her movements.

"That is not a wise course, Sango-sama." Miroku said solemnly.

"What do you suggest, we sit and wait patiently for her to return!" She demanded angrily.

Miroku shook his head. "Think carefully, Sango-sama. Kagome-sama believes we do not want to see her. She is a hanyou now. If we so much get within sensing distance, she will elude us. It would be but a waste of energy. Kagome-sama has always been a sensitive girl, she will know if we are searching for her."

"Then she'll come back? If she knows we're looking?" Sango asked, a childish form of hope blossoming on her features.

Again, the monk shook his head. "But we must wait. Kagome is unfamiliar with her new powers now. The best course of action would be to wait here. There is only one way Kagome can truly leave this place."

Sango's heart dropped. "The well..."

"Yes. She'll return to the well eventually, in hopes of leaving. If we wait, we may be able to speak with her before she crosses over into her own time. But it is imperative that we be patient. If we go out too soon, Kagome will know we're waiting for her at the well. She'll hide, and when she's more attuned to her abilities, she might be able to cross over without us knowing." Miroku explained, keeping is calm facade. Inside he was berating his foolishness. He had taken Inuyasha's words to heart in the foolish belief that perhaps the dead miko had changed with the death of Naraku. Kagome's naiveté must have worn off on him somewhere along the line, but now he could only curse himself. Kagome didn't deserve what they had put her through. He hoped that she would listen and forgive them.

Inuyasha sat in a stony silence. Kikyou wouldn't...would she? Kagome was...what was Kagome to him? What was Kikyou? He loved her right? Which "her" did he love? Which was right? Was he wrong? Ohhh, he was soo confused. Had he made a mistake? A scent tickled his nose. What? It couldn't be...His ears twitched as the sound of pounding footsteps reached the furry appendages. He stood suddenly, more confused than even, and stepped outside of the hut.

Hoping that Kagome had returned, Sango and Miroku followed the inu-hanyou outside when they were met with a most unexpected sight. Kikyou had come bolting from the forest and she threw herself onto Inuyasha, hugging him tightly.

"Inuyasha," she panted, her wild sprint through the forest having winded her, "I missed you so much."

Amber eyes wide with confusion, Inuyasha could only stammer, "K-Kikyou?"

"Yes!" Kikyou looked up from snuggling her face into his firerat haori. Her skin had taken on an almost rose petal hue. Her body was soft, warm, and living. The most drastic change was that her eyes had become a warm chocolate color and absolutely glowing with emotion. "Inuyasha!" She smiled, her lips curving beautifully, a reflection of her inner affections for him.

"What?" Inuyasha stared openly and wide-eyed. Kikyou never acted like this! In fact, only one person had ever looked upon him with such pure emotions before, Kagome. What was going on? "You...you're alive?"

"Yes, Inuyasha. We can be together now. Really and truly, Inuyasha. I made a promise! Everything will be alright now!" She gushed. The warm and happy feelings had taken over Kikyou. She couldn't help but be happy and optimistic. Was this what made Kagome the way she was? If it was, then she had been wrong. There was nothing terrible in Kagome's emotions. She felt so light. Something that felt so good couldn't' possibly be wrong. She bubbled over with emotion, wanting to share her happiness with everyone else.

Kikyou turned when she felt a questioning hand on her shoulder. She met the houshi's uncertain gaze. "Please explain, Kikyou-sama. You seem to be doing quite well, unexpectedly."

Kikyou's expression dropped suddenly. "Well?" Her eyes widened. "I totally forgot about Kagome!"

The other's started at the mention of their wayward friend. "Kagome! Where is she? How is she! Is she alright?" Kikyou was bombarded by concern for the lost miko.

"I..." Kikyou tensed suddenly, as did Inuyasha and Miroku. An intense spiritual power was building up, and it was heading towards them! But rather than threatening, they were more than ready to welcome it when it blew past suddenly. It was an arrow! Inuyasha's acute youkai senses followed the arrow as Kikyou and Miroku stretched their own spiritual senses to track it.

The arrow struck the Goshinboku and seemed to sink into the ancient tree. With it, they all could feel the presence of the Shikon no Tama, then it faded, leaving behind just an aura of warmth and familiarity behind.

The four turned to look at Kaede, questions written openly on their faces. Before any of them could open their mouths to voice a question, they were interrupted by a loud cracking noise. Their heads whipped around to find the source, settling on Inuyasha.

The inu-hanyou stared down, horrified to find large cracks running through each dark bead and white fang of his necklace. The cracks spider-webbed out slowly before exploding into an fine dust and disappearing. The subduing necklace was no more. Stunned, they stared blankly at where the necklace had rested before the repercussions of the event finally sank in.

"No..." Inuyasha gasped. "That...it can't be..."

Kaede watched the group sadly. It had all been a sad mistake. Kagome was too giving a child, and now she was lost to them.

"KAEDE!" Inuyasha roared, desperation evident in his voice. "What just happened!"

The elderly miko's features seemed to sag. "Whatever you believe, it's probably what had just occurred Inuyasha. Kagome has sealed the Shikon within the Goshinboku. Her powers linger...I believe she has placed a barrier around the tree and the village to protect it. The subduing necklace is gone. She has released you all. She's gone home, Inuyasha."

"NO! She can't just leave like this!" Inuyasha screamed, his voice tortured. He made to run into the forest, after the girl. Even if she can't pass back through the well, I still CAN! I'll bring her back. She'll listen! He convinced himself.

Kikyou gently grasped the sleeve of Inuyasha's haori, effectively stopping him. Her head was bowed, her even bangs shielding her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Inuyasha. I never realized..." She said softly, tears creeping into her voice.

"What!" Looking betrayed at the woman he was now sure had lied to him, he glared at her angrily.

"I just realized, how so very much, Kagome loved you." She moved so slowly, as if inching through tar, wrapping her arms around the hanyou's stiffened form. "Everything I'm feeling now...it was everything Kagome felt for you. I just didn't realize until now, she made me live...she thought it would make you happy..." She trailed off.

"Stop, talk later. I need to get Kagome!"

Miroku had perked up at Kikyou's confession, realization dawning bitterly within him. "There is no need anymore, Inuyasha." He said morosely. his attitude completely sobered by the realization.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!"

"I'm so sorry, Inuyasha." Kikyou was sobbing openly now. "I told her two souls couldn't rest in one vessel!"

"What!" Inuyasha was totally confused. What did that have to do with anything.

But Sango too, had understood by that point. She turned away, unable to face her companions or herself.

"What the hell! Tell me dammit! Is Kagome alright!" Inuyasha looked wildly about, meeting only guilt and grief-stricken expressions.

"Kagome is gone, Inuyasha." Kaede said gently.

"Gone through the well! I'll get her back!"

"No," Kikyou eased gently, "Kagome can't come back anymore. She's gone for good. I told her two souls could not be housed within a single vessel. So, she gave me her soul, in its entirety."

Inuyasha stilled. But...that would...His ears drooped. "That...that can't be right...Kagome would never..."

"She thought it would make you happy...She made me promise to love you. I told her that I couldn't...So she gave me the ability to love you. She loved you like no other, Inuyasha. I can feel it. She loved you more than I ever could have..." Tears streamed down the priestess's face. "She thought that you believed she had betrayed you, and you wouldn't want to see her again. So she gave up her everything to me, so that you all would be happy. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault..." Kikyou slipped away from the group. "I never thought she would ever be so giving. I'm so very sorry...I was mistaken..."

Inuyasha was totally frozen. He had been wrong. So very dead wrong, and now Kagome had paid the price. But she couldn't be dead! NO! She would live. Ok, she wouldn't have her soul anymore, but Kikyou had survived without her soul, so could Kagome! RIGHT? Without uttering a word, he forced himself to believe this and dashed off to the well.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome watched as her arrow faded from her sight. She could still feel the arrows path through her powers. It stayed true to its course, burying itself deep within the tree. Satisfied, she sat herself onto the lip of the well. This would be the last time she would ever be able to pass through the well. She closed her eyes, inhaling the clean, pure scent of the feudal era. She would truly miss this time, and all of her friends. But it was for the best, she convinced herself. She now housed a darkness within her only she would be able to take care of, She didn't need to burden her friends with her problems. It was time to return home.

Swinging her legs gracefully over the lip, she gazed down into the portal that would take her away; five hundred years into the future where she would be the farthest from the friends she had fought and sacrificed beside. "Be happy." She said, smiling a half-smile to herself. She had made her decision, and she would stick with it. With that, she pushed lightly from the well lip...only to be stopped at the last second by a clawed hand snagging her wrist?

She looked up, shock obvious on her features. "Guh?" She said intelligently.

Intense golden eyes bored down into her crimson ones. "Miko," the voice said coldly, "do not run."

GYAAAH! IT WAS SESSHOUMARU! Her mind screamed helpfully as it ran in little circles. She almost laughed out loud. After everything she had just been through, absorbing Naraku into herself, being betrayed by her friends, sacrificing her soul to Kikyou, and deciding to leave forever, was she going to be killed NOW?

The corners of her mouth turned up crookedly. "Seems you're a little late, Sesshoumaru-sama." She said lightly. "Now, if you'd kindly let go, I need to be going." She reached up with her other hand and tried to pry the youkai's claws off her wrist, but her hanyou strength was far from adequate.

She had almost forgotten about the Taiyoukai. Sesshoumaru had been of invaluable help in the final battle. He seemed to have been as surprised as the rest of them when she absorbed Naraku. But as soon as Naraku had faded, he too disappeared. No one had expected him to stick around. He had simply offered his allegiances with them to defeat the hanyou that had wronged him as well. Along the way to the final battle, they had all learned that he wasn't an overall bad guy, but still very disagreeable. Kagome could contest to that, though she had tried her best to get him to lighten up. He only seemed lose his cold facade when she revealed a new trinket or whatever from her time. He was very open to questioning about curiosities which caught his attention, none more so than Kagome herself, which everyone but her seemed to notice.

"Do not struggle, or I shall remove the appendage." He replied smoothly.

Kagome wilted. "But I need it."

"It'll grow back, in time." Sesshoumaru flexed his left arm, as if in demonstration of youkai regenerative abilities.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. She didn't like how he seemed to be taunting her. She sighed. She was just tired. "What do you want, Sesshoumaru? I don't know what I could do, I've done all I can. I just want to go home." She looked down resignedly.

"Do not run." He repeated.

"I'm not running. I'm leaving." She clarified, then resumed her fruitless struggle.

"I'll destroy it."

Kagome stilled immediately at the threat. Sesshoumaru was not a person to joke around. He could harm her, she almost wouldn't mind that, but she would NOT allow him to destroy her only way home.

When Kagome slackened in his grasp, the taiyoukai hoisted her easily from the well. He stood her on the ground where he could study her. She was a hanyou now, a creature of tainted blood. But...he couldn't smell a trace of Naraku on her at all. Her scent was as pure as it had always been.

"Done yet?" Kagome asked, nervous when Sesshoumaru's nose seemed to wander all over her.

"Sufficiently." He replied, aware of her discomfort. "What did you think you were doing, miko?" He asked.

Kagome rolled her eyes. She was so VERY TIRED! Why couldn't she go home and sulk in peace? "I'm leaving, ok? I'm not wanted here. They all think I'll go Naraku on them and try to destroy the village or something."

He raised a brow at her curious choice of words.

Kagome shook her head. "I mean, they think I won't be able to..." She placed a hand over her chest. "The darkness I took in, they think I'll hurt them." She finished softly.

"Why do you not explain to them?"

She blinked and stared down at her feet. "They're happier this way. I've made sure of it. The tama is safe. Kikyou's alive. Miroku won't have an untimely death. They'll all live happily, protected."

"Are you sure?"

DAMN THAT SESSHOUMARU! HIM AND HIS STUPID ARROGANCE! THE CONFIDENT PRICK! Ok, she did not have his confidence...where did that frigging come from? He just had that amazing ability to make her doubt herself sooo very much. But then she remembered the faces of her friends when she first awoke. They couldn't even look at her. The pain she felt then. They would be better off without her. Steeling her resolve, she clenched her fists at her side and stared up at the taiyoukai, meeting his powerful gaze evenly.

"Yes, I'm sure." She said resolutely. The she strode forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection, carefully avoiding his pointy armor. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru."

The taiyoukai had stiffened at the unexpected affection from the miko, but made no move to stop her. He looked down at the crown of inky hair. "What for?" He asked.

"For caring." She replied. Her new, silky voice muffled against him. "Goodbye, Sesshoumaru." She slid from him and made her way back to the well lip.

"Good bye...Kagome."

She grinned at him as she jumped into the well.

The feeling the taiyoukai was experiencing could almost be called peaceful as he watched her leave.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome was almost happy as she felt the familiar blue aura envelope her. It was a bittersweet feeling. She was returning home, but leaving so much behind.

_"A body was never meant to house two souls."_

Kagome's eyes widened as Kikyou's voice echoed through her head. Suddenly, the blue aura flashed a violent red and streaked down her body. It was a blazing heat. She felt like she was being torn in two! It was a pain like no other, she was being ripped apart!

Kagome screamed.

-:- -:- -:-

Sesshoumaru froze in mid-stride. That was Kagome's scream. He turned in time to see angry scarlet light streaming from the well. He ran to the edge and peered down, hoping that it was alright. He had never actually seen the well work before, but he was sure it wasn't supposed to cause pain like that agonized scream he had heard.

The rustling of bushes drew his attention away from the well momentarily. Inuyasha bolted out, leaves and twigs strewn haphazardly throughout his hair and clothes. His eyes widened upon seeing the well. "WHAT THE HELL?"

He ran to the edge, prepared to jump in, but the scarlet aura repelled him. He couldn't even touch the well. He turned panicked eyes to his elder brother. Sesshoumaru could only stare helplessly back. Neither knew what was happening.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome was swimming in blackness. She was stiff, cold, and alone. The last thing she recalled before the pain was Kikyou's voice. Then she found herself floating alone in a void. Had she died? Did the well kill her? Well, that was certainly not what she had expected. "Death by well." Seemed kind of anticlimactic after everything else...

She briefly caught sight of something else floating with her, but it seemed to be blurred, as if not fully formed. Before she could get close enough to see it, her eyes opened.

Kagome lay on her back on the floor of the well house. The well sat innocently beside her, as if it had not been roaring an angry red that literally seemed to tear her to pieces. She gave it an irritated glare. Way to send her home. She patted the well though. It would be the last time she ever jumped through it. She stood, groaning.

She seemed to ache everywhere. She allowed her hands to probe her body, checking for wounds of any sort. She absently noted that she was still a hanyou. She had not magically turned back into a human, much to her disappointment. This would be hard to explain. Her hand was on the well house door when she heard a sound behind her. "Buyo?" She called, wondering if her obese lump of fur known as her cat had gotten back down into the well house again. "Buyo, I thought Souta was keeping an eye on you." She crept over other side of the well, searching the corners for her cat.

A groan met her ears, a most decidedly human noise.

Her eyes widened as she spotted white against the darkness of the well house. That was a foot. She followed the white foot up to see it's owner, and screamed.

-:- -:- -:-

Crimson eyes snapped open at the scream. The body jumped up and away from the offending noise. He curled into a corner and covered his ears with his hands. Where was he? What was that awful noise.

He turned to meet the wide-eyed gaze of a stunning, though seemingly traumatized, young woman.

"Naraku!" She gasped.

"Yes?" He replied. "And who might you be?"

-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

SM: Yatta! And there you have it! Confusing wasn't it? Well read it and review me or flame me or give suggestions! It's all good!

Oh, and those waiting patiently on either Pain or Crows, school will be out for me by the end of this week. I have some stuff typed up, but I need to add, edit, and fine tune it before I can post it. Hopefully, and I know I haven't been really good on keeping to a schedule, I should have them updated by the end of this month. (crosses fingers) So here's to hoping!

Oh yeah, and a little while ago, I posted a little oneshot songfic...thingy...wasn't really a songfic cuz I removed all the lyrics, but it's...a fic based on a song. It's called Don't Think of Me. Check it out! Or check out the link for the complete version on A Single Spark. The link should be in my profile. Heh heh heh, I know a lotta people didn't like it, but hey, it was my first attempt, and I'm rather fond of it...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Kami! Kami! Kami! Kami! Kami! Kami! Her brain wasn't working right. She slipped and fell. She broke something important! THIS COULD **NOT** BE HAPPNENING! Naraku was in the well house, in her time, looking as if all was well in the world. AND HE WAS NAKED!

Kagome screamed again. THERE WAS A NAKED MAN IN THE WELL HOUSE! Oh Kami, what was she supposed to do now! Her mind flashed back to elementary school. THEY HAD NEVER SHOWN HER ANY EMERGENCY SAFETY TAPES ABOUT WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR ARCH-NEMESIS DECIDED TO APPEAR IN YOUR WELL HOUSE, STARK NAKED, AND NOT KNOW WHO YOU WERE! Effectively, her mind shut down, leaving her appearing calm and in control of the situation. However, inside, the little hamster on the wheel of her brain was going, "GYAGARPHRAGNITSCHIZZLEMAFIZZLE!"

Naraku peered curiously up at the young woman in front of him. "Girl, are you suffering from some form of brain-damage?" He asked, only half joking.

"No, I am not, thank you very much. It just so happens that I'm contemplating what to do about the naked man in my well house." Kagome replied smoothly, revealing no evidence about her inner brain seizure.

At this Naraku looked down upon himself. "Hm...my clothes seemed to have vanished. If I may borrow some?" He asked.

MUFAH! He seemed almost courteous. What the hell...wait a sec…people from the feudal era don't know about brain damage! What the hell was going on! The wheels on the bus go round and round. Kagome was absolutely flabbergasted. "Uh, yeah sure. Follow me." She lead him out of the well house, but not before throwing a spare blanket that she found in the well house, around him. It was a bit dusty, so they had to wait a while before both ceased in their coughing fits, but they made their way into Kagome's home.

Why didn't Naraku seem more...DARK, EVIL, AND SCARY? Better yet, why didn't he seem bothered by modern technology. Even better question, WHY WAS HE IN HER HOUSE!

Kagome ran into her brother's room. Upon finding some of his oversized clothing which her mother was absolutely sure he would grow into, she ran back down and handed them to Naraku...who proceeded to change right in front of her. Blushing a beet red, she redirected him to the bathroom.

Once alone, Kagome sat down to ponder. The red light from the well must have been because she had absorbed Naraku. Kikyou had said that it was impossible for her to hold two souls. She thought she solved that problem by returning Kikyou's to her. Apparently not, because Naraku had been split from her, and Kagome was still alive breathing...and a hanyou. Come to think of it, this Naraku didn't have a spider scar on his back. She was totally sure because...she blushed violently, shaking away her mind images of the nude Naraku.

The well had split them, but Naraku seemed comfortable in the modern era...too comfortable. It clicked suddenly. They had reversed roles somehow. She was now the hanyou, and he was a human, who probably believed that he was from her time. Oh Kami, this was going to be **very** hard to explain to him, and to anyone else for that matter.

-:- -:- -:-

Naraku shook out the clothes he had been proffered. They were a little childish for his tastes, but with gallivanting around in the buff being the other choice, he readily accepted the clothing. It was strange though, he thought as he dressed.

He couldn't remember much of...anything really. His name was Naraku. He...hated math? Was that all he knew? He would have to question to girl. She seemed more familiar with him than he was with himself. That reminded him. He had yet to learn her name.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome was in the middle of her ponderings when the doorbell rang. Sighing to herself, and wondering what else could possibly fall about her ears now, she went to answer it. Praying to any gods that might be listening that it wasn't any of her friends or Hojou, as it would be hard to convince them that sprouting three feet of hair, crimson eyes, fangs, and claws stemmed from a disease, she opened the door.

-:- -:- -:-

"Nugoooo..." The inarticulate noise fell from Kagome's lips like a baby's coo.

The man on the other side simply raised a brow. "It is good to see you too, miko."

Kagome stared openly. This. Could. Not. Be. Happening.

"I'll take that as an invitation in. Thank you very much, Miss Higurashi." Sesshoumaru said politely. Five hundred years was enough time for anyone to change their attitude. He strode inside past her, and effectively caught her as her legs refused to support her anymore.

"Kami, what did I do to deserve this?" She muttered.

"You were, apparently, a very good girl." Sesshoumaru whispered by her ear, his voice low and insinuating. He lifted her easily and carried her to the couch. "I waited a long time to meet you again, Kagome. It is good to see that you have not changed." He said, with no small smile lingering in his voice.

"IT'S BEEN FIVE FREAKING MINUTES! HOW MUCH COULD POSSIBLY HAVE CHANGED?" She shrieked, about at the end of her sanity.

"What is with all the screaming?" A voice asked.

Oh Kami, she had forgotten about him.

Sesshoumaru whirled around. His golden eyes flashing scarlet as he spotted the man who had spoken.

Naraku stood with his head tilted to the side. A black t-shirt hung loosely off his lean frame. He wore baggy jeans that weren't so baggy on him as they would have been on Souta. His hair was tied back in a low-ponytail. His crimson eyes stared curiously at the enraged man in front of him. "Who's he?" He asked Kagome.

-:- -:- -:-

The gods were against her. That was decided. Here she was, serving tea and snacks to two of what used to be enemies in the feudal era. Naraku could not seem to get enough strawberry pocky, which was unfortunately, her favorite as well. Sesshoumaru seemed intent on staring down the tea, as nothing else could withstand his death glare.

She could never have imagined herself in such a situation. She explained her feeble comprehension of the situation in a broken, fragmented, and confused sort of way, as she understood it. The two men/youkai? simply nodded. Naraku seemed like he could care less, and Sesshoumaru...well he had apparently replaced the icicle up his ass with a bigger one.

She sighed. "Look, I don't understand this anymore than the rest of you. Too much has happened too soon. I'm going to bed. Don't kill each other or wreck the house or I'll swear I'll use my miko powers," she pointed to Sesshoumaru, "or my youkai powers," she pointed to Naraku, "to rip you two several new ones. Goodnight." She said sweetly, before stalking up the stairs and collapsing onto the bed after shutting her door and changing. She had entered the blissful, uncaring state one enters when their brains get over-stimulated, or their bodies pushed past exhaustion. For Kagome, she had experienced both, but she was so far gone, she didn't care about what might be awaiting her when she awoke. Poor girl.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome groaned as wakefulness tried to invade her happy unconsciousness. She didn't want to wake up. Just a few more days of sleep perhaps? What could it hurt?

A lot, Kagome realized as voices trickled in through her closed door. People were arguing, RIGHT OUTSIDE HER DOORWAY. With another groan, Kagome rolled over, or attempted to. Surprised by her sudden immobility, she turned her head to look at what held her still.

No. No. No. No. No. Kagome's mind was in a delicious state of denial, after all it was too early for this. It didn't matter if her clock read 2:36 pm. It. Was. Too. Early. Curling her arm under her head, she hid herself beneath her covers. It was just her imagination. There was no way that Naraku had crawled into her bed and was sleeping beside her with his arm draped across her body. Nope, nope, nope. Whatever was beside her was a pillow. A large, breathing, snoring, and human-shaped pillow, but it was just a pillow.

Oh CRAPNESS! The pillow was moving! Kagome's eyes snapped open. All sleep erased from her addled mind, she could no longer deny the facts. She quickly rolled out of the bed, landing animalistically on her fingers and toes. A low growl escaped her throat as anger streaked through her. Life could never be easy for her. Nothing ever went her way. She was Fate's favorite plaything. The moment of clarity struck her as she crouched on the floor of her room. Her life sucked.

Naraku raised his head up, eyes blinking blearily. "You up?" He asked casually, as if it was normal to be sleeping beside a woman he had known for perhaps only a few hours.

Kagome's crimson eyes narrowed. She growled her displeasure at her life. This was too much.

At that moment, her door swung open and an irate Inuyoukai barged in, Kagome's brother trailing after him still yelling that he shouldn't go in there because Kagome would yell at him. Sesshoumaru, ignoring Souta, instead focused his attention on the former dark hanyou, currently curled up on Kagome's bed.

"You! I knew I smelled something foul in the air. What are you doing?" Sesshoumaru demanded angrily. He also ignored the rather attractive female hanyou, crouching on the floor, back raised in the air, clad in nothing but a filmy nighty. That would have proved too distracting had he looked.

"Gyah! KAGOME! What happened to you!" Souta shrieked, mortified. Then he looked at her bed. "KAMI! Were you sleeping with a guy!"

Naraku yawned. "Who are you again?"

Kagome felt her limbs give out from beneath her. She lay immobile on her carpet for a few minutes in a silent tantrum. Just as her brother was about to lean down and poke her to make sure that she was alright, Kagome sprang to her feet. "EVERYBODY OUT!" She screamed, shoving out the intruding males in front of her. "OUT!" She yelled when one of the less wise protested against her. She slammed the door, huffing. Raising her eyes, she met the level gaze of a curious former psychopath. Ah, she seemed to have missed one.

"Morning." He said sedately.

Kagome slid to the floor and covered her eyes, with a depressed sigh.

"Is this a bad time?" Naraku asked.

Kagome nodded mutely, refusing to look up. She could hear him as he slid from her bed and padded over to the door. She didn't uncover her eyes until he was out of her room and she could hear him totter down the stairs.

-:- -:- -:-

"MOM! KAGOME'S UPSTAIRS AND SHE'S ALL FREAKY AND THIS GUY WAS IN HER BED!" Souta was yelling so loudly that Kagome would not have even needed demon enhanced senses to hear him. She could just imagine her little brother pointing wildly at Naraku, having absolutely no clue as to who he had once been. After a few moments of quietly mumbling, Kagome knew was her mother speaking, Souta burst out again.

"WHY ARE YOU WEARING MY CLOTHES!"

More mumbling, Naraku answering.

Almost angrily, Kagome changed into day clothes with her newly acquired demon speed and raced down the stairs. "Mom! It's not what you think!" She shouted, slamming doors behind her. She came skidding into the room, hair whipping behind her.

Sakuya merely smiled and nodded, not even bothering to look up from the kitchen counter as she prepared breakfast. "It's so nice to have you back, Kagome." She peered at her daughter, her face showing only mild surprise. "My, you've grown so much. You look so much different." She exclaimed softly. "So, how long will you be staying this time." Sakuya seemed to disregard the other two rather strange looking men in the room to favor her transformed daughter.

Everyone blinked a few times. She wasn't going to ask about her knew hanyou daughter?

Kagome's expression fell almost instantly. "Mom, I'm not going back." She replied quietly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

Sakuya paused a moment. She turned to face her daughter slowly, a smile spread across her features. "Kagome?"

She bowed her head. "I…I'll be staying here from now on, mom." Kagome looked up, grinning. "Isn't that great?" It sounded strained, even to her own ears.

"I see." Sakuya wiped her hands, suddenly drawing her startled daughter into a gentle hug. "I'm just glad your safe." She whispered, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

Kagome's eyes widened. She had never realized how deeply affected her mother was about her trips to the past.

Her mother worried about her everyday never knowing what was happening. She never knew if the day Kagome left, it would be the last day she would ever see her. She would never know how her daughter breathed her last if she never returned. She would be helpless, on the other side of the time portal, never knowing what was truly happening to her daughter.

Sakuya may not have been the brightest person, but her maternal instincts guided her well. She was aware that her daughter wouldn't tell her the whole truth of what happened on the other side of the well. She knew that Kagome hoped to keep her from worrying. But a mother could never not worry. All she could do was hope and pray, and trust that her daughter would return home safely.

Kagome raised her arms slowly, enclosing her mother in her changed limbs. She bowed her head sorrowfully. "Gomen nasai, okaasan." She whispered. "I never meant to cause you pain…"

"I know, baby, I know." Sakuya gave her daughter a reassuring squeeze, tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm just so happy you're back."

"Back from where?"

Kagome froze. She had forgotten about Naraku, about them, their audience. She stiffened. What could she say? How to explain? She wasn't ready. She released her mother, taking a few steps back. "I…."

"Breakfast is ready!" Sakuya grinned. "Souta, is the table set for our guests?"

Souta's face fell. He'd been hoping for some answers, or at least some hints on what had happened. The two guys who were with her, he assumed were demons since they just looked so strange. He still wondered why one was wearing his clothes though. He stalked off to the table grumbling that he was going to miss the good stuff.

Kagome sighed in relief. No, Souta wasn't going to miss anything since their mother had just bought her some time to organize her thoughts. She still had difficulty comprehending what had happened. Too much had happened too soon, that was for sure.

-:- -:- -:-

Breakfast was awkward.

Once everyone was seated, ojii-chan barged in suddenly, complaining that no one had gone to fetch him once breakfast was ready. He laid eyes on Sesshoumaru and Naraku and an instant later, the two were plastered in sticky, non-working, ofuda, as he shrieked "youkai."

Sesshoumaru sat in stoic surprise as Naraku stared, a mildly bewildered expression on his face. He peeled the ofuda from his person, wincing as they were as sticky as duct tape. "I am not a youkai, ojii-san." Naraku stated calmly. He jerked a thumb in Sesshoumaru's direction. "_He_ is a youkai. Inu, I think…" He paused contemplatively.

Souta leapt to his feet. "INU-YOUKAI! Like Inuyasha-nii-san?" He screeched, half-chewed food spraying from his open mouth. Sakuya scolded him back into his feet.

Ojii-chan stomped about, demanding why there were two more youkai in the household, pointing wildly at the two other men.

Naraku calmly replied that the other youkai would be his granddaughter, and not him. The old man whirled around and just about had a stroke at the sight of his beloved granddaughter.

Kagome hung her head, trying to shrink into her seat, silently shoveling food into her mouth.

-:- -:- -:-

As soon as breakfast was finished, Sakuya set about to cleaning up, roping Souta in to help. Sesshoumaru ushered Kagome away to speak in private, leaving behind a confused Naraku with an overzealous old man.

-:- -:- -:-

"Kagome."

She looked up in response to the stern voice. She was seated on her bed in her room, Sesshoumaru closing the door behind him.

"When did he get here?" The Taiyoukai asked, leaving no doubt behind over who he was talking about as his eyes narrowed.

"He was with me when I left through the well the last time." Kagome answered truthfully.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed to slits. "I saw you that last time. You passed, alone."

"I…" Kagome trailed off. She closed her eyes, trying to remember. Though it happened just yesterday to her, her memories of the last jump were blurry and unfocused. She vaguely remembered the searing, splitting pain, the red aura, and…that strange lump beside her… "I think I brought him through." She murmured, then continued before the inu could question her further. "I think that the well split us, or something, that last time. When I jumped, it felt like I was being torn apart. Maybe Naraku's soul was separated from me and…he became human?" She looked up questioningly.

Sesshoumaru's expression was blank. "I see." He replied after a moment. He started for her abruptly. Kagome sat in silent shock as the inu-youkai grasped her chin, tilting her head to the side.

"What are you," she began to ask before she noticed the intense look the youkai had as her neck underwent his scrutiny.

"I have time." He murmured.

Kagome slapped his hand away. "What the hell, Sesshoumaru! What are you doing? What are you looking for?"

Sesshoumaru's jaw tightened. "When it happens, you'll know." He answered cryptically.

Kagome growled. "That's not an answer."

He raised a clawed hand and traced the crook of her neck. "Here." He pressed the spot with his claw, leaving a slight indent where the tip had touched. "When _it_ happens, you will have no more time."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kagome." He looked at her seriously. "I was hoping to make it here before _him_. I hadn't expected him to have come through the well with you, so I waited for this day, the very hour you would arrive, I knew. You told me everything, except that he came with you."

She stared at him puzzled. "But I didn't even know, until just now, and it's just a theory. Wait a sec, I just told you this, just now. What are you talking about?"

He leveled a steady gaze at her. "You will pass through the well again, one more time, Kagome, but just once. For now though, you need to seal it so Inuyasha can't get through. He'll be trying soon enough, but for now, it repels him."

Kagome shook her head. So much information to process at once. It hit her then, Sesshoumaru had _lived_. That meant that he knew everything that had happened in the five hundred years since she had been gone.

He gave her a look, knowing instantly what she had just realized. "Yes, I know about your friends. I know how they lived and died." He said softly. "Do you want me to-"

"NO!" Kagome cut him off sharply. Her clawed hands were digging holes into her mattress as she gripped the edges of her bed. "No, I don't want to know. I wanted them to live happy lives. Happy lives Sesshoumaru! I sacrificed my very soul in the hopes that they would live happy lives!" Her eyes were clenched shut in denial. She didn't want the knowledge that perhaps, she had not done enough for them, that her efforts had been in vain. She didn't need the confirmation of another failure.

"I see." He replied stoically.

Kagome could feel the bed shift as he seated himself beside her. He wordlessly drew her into his lap, surrounding her in a warm embrace. She clutched at his shirt. She didn't want to know. She didn't want to know!

She had left them just yesterday. They hadn't seemed to have wanted her there. It was enough for her to know that she didn't belong in their time. Even as a hanyou, she didn't belong in the past, but it made it nearly impossible for her to belong in her time either. She was something that had no place. It scared her. Everything was new. Everything was different now. She didn't want to know if she had been making all the wrong choices this whole time.

"Kagome." Sesshoumaru said after a time. "I won't tell you how they lived or died, but I have to say, after you left, things were never the same. Everyone became much more…subdued. We all missed you very much."

Her throat tightened. "Shut up." She sobbed into his shirt. They weren't supposed to have missed her. They were supposed to move on a rebuild their lives without the threat of impending evil. She only wanted them to be happy.

-:- -:- -:-

Naraku had quickly mastered the art of zoning out as the old man ranted about demons and ancient sacred artifacts. He now sported new ofuda headgear as the old man would not calm down until he had 'sealed' his evil youki. Naraku had acquiesced only after the old man had a veritable tantrum when he had thwarted his previous nine attempts of 'sealing' him.

He blinked as he noticed new movement from the doorway. It was the guy with white hair, the inu-youkai. The old man was ignored for the time being as Naraku turned his attention on the newcomer.

Sesshoumaru crossed his arms as he leaned in the doorway. "If you harm her, I will kill you." He promised.

"Who?" He asked cluelessly.

"Kagome." Sesshoumaru growled.

"Is that her name…" He turned to look up at the direction the inu had come from. A rumbling sound returned his attention back onto the youkai.

"Even if you don't remember, I will never forget." He snarled. "You're a sadistic bastard Naraku. She is the only soul on earth who could have forgiven you. She saved your worthless soul. If anything, you should know that you owe your everything to that girl. Without her, you wouldn't exist." Sesshoumaru hissed, hatred blazed in his golden orbs.

Crimson eyes narrowed. "I don't understand."

"You don't have to. Just, do not harm her, or I will make sure that you will die a slow and very painful death." He spat venomously, his hand raised, claws glowing a toxic green. He slanted his eyes away a moment, thoughtful. "I would prefer if you simply disappeared, but for now, I can't allow that to happen. Just stay away from her." He muttered, turning away.

Naraku's face was a mask of confusion. He concluded quickly that the inuyoukai was deranged and proceeded to drown out further mutterings with his own blank thoughts.

-:- -:- -:-

Outside, Sesshoumaru quietly made his way toward the well house. He slid the door open, and promptly sneezed. Dust was everywhere. He wrinkled his nose. Searching about the well house, he discovered an old blanket that smelled faintly of Naraku. She must have brought him to the house under the cover of the blanket. There was enough dust that it would hide his scent, he concluded.

He faced the well and peered inside. The heart of the well began glowing a dark red, a reaction to his youki. It wouldn't allow him to pass. He knew, on the other side, Inuyasha was peering down the same well, thinking the same thoughts. If only he could go back and tell them how to save her.

But he could not. He could only try to help her from here. With all of the knowledge he had learned since then, he still did not know enough about her. Still, he would do all in his power to protect her from the darkness that loomed ahead. He could do no less.

-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

SM: It's been a long time since I last updated this, right? Well, I said it was going to be updated slowly in my profile! So there! Nyeeeh. This chapter is a lot shorter than I wanted it to be, but I couldn't make it any longer without doubling it in length. It's also quite confusing, isn't it? Mwaha! It's cuz I was confused while writing it! Too many thoughts at once. Gyeheh heh. Hopefully the next chapters will be longer, though. I'll find out when I've written them. Heh heh heh.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Shrieking crimson light erupted from the well.

Inuyasha took a hasty step back, covering his ears and grimacing. It had been two full days, and still the well had violently refused him passage! He glared at the portal. A chimney of red light pillared up to the sky, dyeing the very air around them incarnadine shades. The shrieking intensified as the seconds passed. He couldn't get close. He growled in frustration. LET HIM PASS! He had to see Kagome! He had to make sure she was alright! He wanted to know if she could forgive them!

Claws dug into his palms as his hands curled on themselves. Blood dripped unnoticed to the grass. He was so stupid. He shouldn't have let her go. He should have trusted her. He shouldn't have allowed himself to be blinded, mistaking guilt for love…

The well thundered, a scarlet shockwave passing over him. Inuyasha barely had time to brace himself, claws digging into the ground, arms covering his face, before the wave hit him, throwing him back into the treeline. Branches whipped backwards, leaves and sticks flying. The pressure crushed him into a tree trunk. He let out one choked gasp as his back was pulverized against the rough bark before the tree snapped suddenly.

It was deafening, that horrible energy the well emitted. His ears ringing, eyes blurry, he tried to look up from his position on the forest floor, laying on his stomach. The well had abruptly fallen silent. The whole clearing was pitched into an eerily calm, almost gray like, existence. Something had changed. Something was missing.

Inuyasha struggled to stand. Leaves fluttered silently to the ground. Sound was completely absent to his deaf ears. He could barely keep his eyes focused as he swayed, stumbling forward toward the well. He collapsed, hands at the lip of the well, peering into the now quiet well intently. It took a moment to register the change. His eyes widened in disbelief. It couldn't be! The well was dead. Not a trace of magic remained in the time portal.

-:- -:- -:-

Sesshoumaru observed his younger half-brother through the treetops. His own senses had been dulled by the explosion of energy from the well, but unlike his sibling, he had the sense to move away from the epicenter of the disaster.

He watched as Inuyasha slumped beside the well, his back resting against the ancient wood. Inuyasha curled his legs toward himself, hugging his knees. He buried his face in his arms. A strange feeling bubbled within Sesshoumaru. He had the alien urge to try to…comfort the hanyou. He had never before seen the whelp so defeated. It didn't seem right for his brash, loud, sibling. No creature of Taiyoukai blood should ever give into despair.

However, before the youkai could contemplate descending and reprimanding the youth for his weakness, his ningen companions appeared. Sesshoumaru frowned, his ears were still ringing, but only a little, and his nose was perfectly fine, if not a feeling a bit warm. He should have sensed their approach from before they entered the forest. What was wrong with him?

-:- -:- -:-

Miroku, Sango, and Kikyou emerged from the trees in a flurry of questions and worry. What happened? Was he alright? What was going on?

Inuyasha ignored them for the most part. He withdrew into himself. Kagome was gone and he would never see her again. Not for five hundred years! He growled. It was a well known fact that no _hanyou_ had ever lived that long in all the existence of hanyous. Though that was based on the fact that most hanyous were killed before attaining their full life spans, he seriously doubted that even he could stay alive long enough to see her again. He couldn't even apologize to her, much less ask her to stay. She never deserved what had happened to her, or how they had treated her.

Kagome…

-:- -:- -:-

Inuyasha remained beside the well for the night. In the morning, Miroku appeared quietly and sat down beside him. Slowly, he got Inuyasha to leave the well, but Inuyasha would always return to it at night, in some wild hope that perhaps the magic had returned to the well.

Sesshoumaru watched the actions of his foolish sibling for weeks. He wasn't sure why he always returned to the well himself. He entertained the thought that he might have shared his brother's irrational whimsy that the well would suddenly be working again, and he'd see a familiar raven-haired girl emerge from it. He was soon horrified at the thought that perhaps he really _was_ hoping for such an occurrence. Had the girl truly made such an impression on him that he would be preyed upon by these idiotic fancies?

He sighed inwardly. Judging by how much he had been thinking of her lately, he knew, and yet feared, that the answer would be 'yes'.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome took a step back and admired her handiwork. It had taken a bit of doing, but she managed to acquire some blank ofuda from her grandfather. No matter how error-ridden and useless his 'seals' were, he was adamant about how effective the ink splotched ofuda were. She had to convince him to just give her some blank ones since she needed them, to write her own spells on them, but he didn't need to know that. She just made it clear that blank ofuda from him were a necessary part of the sealing.

After much further debate, she finally ran from the house with her prize, five unmarked ofuda. She almost grinned at her success. Upon reaching the well, she tried not to think of what she was doing. She was not permanently severing her relationships with her friends of the past. She was not separating their worlds by five hundred years worth of time. She was definitely not keeping her friends from her. She was doing this because…Kagome tilted her head. Why was she doing this?

Sesshoumaru had said that it was necessary so that Inuyasha wouldn't try to pass through and take her back. But why would he want to do that? She had already given Kikyou back her soul, so now Inuyasha had a living breathing Kikyou to love. He didn't need her anymore. As he had clarified on so many occasions, Kagome had just been a shard detector. She wasn't necessary. Her breath hitched.

This wasn't what she wanted to be thinking about at the moment. She clutched her hard won ofuda to her chest. She remembered Sesshoumaru's expression as he spoke so softly to her. He hadn't been lying, but she wondered why he would say such things. He didn't strike her as the type to…well, protect her or even really care. She was sure that there were things he cared about, but she didn't think that she would be anywhere near making that limited list.

She sighed. It was probably because she was a link to the past. Back when his kind were feared, and he could walk through the land freely, without the constraints of modern life. She stood, silent and still, in the well house. It didn't seem fair to her, but then life rarely was. She would seal the well, as Sesshoumaru told her to. This would make it so Inuyasha wouldn't be tempted to visit her in the modern era. She was sure that they were all happy in the past. She wouldn't allow herself to think otherwise. She had sacrificed too much in trying to ensure their happiness.

Still, as she went to apply the first seal, her hand trembled, hesitating.

"What are you doing?"

The voice startled her so badly that she dropped the paper seal.

Curious, Naraku bent down and retrieved the slip of paper. On it ink was scrawled in illegible squiggles. "What is this?" He asked, turning the paper sideways and upside-down.

Kagome almost jumped out of her skin. "Ah! Give that back!" She leaned forward hastily, trying to snatch back the seal. For some reason, having him hold it, even if it was totally harmless, made her uneasy. He held the paper over his head, against the light for inspection of it. She reached for it, overextending herself as she was still shorter than him. His eyes widened imperceptibly as she stumbled.

The paper seals slipped from her hands as she fell. He caught her easily, but pulled back on her a bit too much. He took a quick step back, overcompensating their equilibrium. She was lighter than he had anticipated. One arm was held firmly around her. His other arm shot out to grip the edge of the well for balance. Thus the first seal was slapped onto the well.

Kagome's eyes grew wide as the well's aura flared. She wriggled from Naraku's grasp. The seal was on the wrong side of the well. It wasn't like she could peel it off and start over either. Doing quick, as well as made up, calculations in her head, she recollected the other seals and repositioned herself. The ofuda was slapped on quickly, to the other sides of the well, trying to contain the vibrant wild well energy.

The well house shook under the power of the aura. It began to shriek. Kagome gasped, covering her ears. Why was it making that horrible noise? Had she miscalculated the new power of the well? The energy began to pulse, intense heart-stopping beats. She cried out in pain. Something in her chest was reverberating with the energy. It thudded so powerfully within her, she was afraid it would burst from her body.

Suddenly, arms were around her again. Something was shielding from the crimson energy. She burrowed into it, claws clutching and tearing. Eyes clenched shut. It seemed an eternity before it passed. The ensuing silence deafening. She collapsed against her shield, barely recognizing a blank pale face and worried crimson eyes.

Her face was wet. She tentatively felt her cheeks. Tears? Had she cried? She held her fingers up, startled to see blood. Dripping down her face, she was crying blood. She looked up questioning. Naraku merely lifted her up once more, carrying her away from the well house.

Kagome was silent and limp in his grasp. Why was she so weak? Was she too trusting and naïve? She wiped at her cheeks furiously with her sleeve, streaking red across her face. Trying to regain a semblance of herself, she looked up into the face of Naraku. "Why?" She asked quietly.

He turned his eyes to her for a moment. "Why what?" He replied blankly.

"Why were you at the well house? Why did you help me at the well house? You're under no obligation to help me." Kagome stared at his face intently. She really wanted to know. She had no clue what this new Naraku was about, or even why he continued to hang around her. She only knew about the Naraku of the feudal era. That cold, tortured soul, that was more of a dried husk than a real person. It was that pain and darkness she had sympathized with. The person with her now was more of a blank slate, an empty shell.

Naraku paused before answering. "I'm more comfortable around you. When I'm alone, my head feels like it's full of echoes. I can hear things. They're not really voices, but they say things, and I can't understand them. When I'm around you, they disappear." He replied calmly.

Kagome stared at him. He had said more in that statement than he had the whole time he had been here! Though, she got the uneasy feeling that he felt better around her because she housed a part of himself. She hoped that he never realized that she was holding his powers, his darkness. She wouldn't ever release it, no matter the cost to herself. She couldn't allow him back his powers and memories. There was no knowing what he could do in modern times, the havoc he would wreck. A memory flashed back to her mind. "Why were you in my bed this morning?" She demanded, blushing.

He looked at her curiously. Was it bad to be sleeping with her? It wasn't like he was a restless sleeper, he didn't think. Then again, he didn't really know himself all that well. There were very few things he was sure of, but one thing he knew was that he was comfortable around her. She was soothing, and he rather liked it. "At night, the voices turn into screams. Being near you quiets them."

Kagome appeared horrified. Oh shiet. Naraku was still insane! Only, he was…calmer. It was still bad though. What would she do if he went psycho inside the house? She couldn't send him anywhere though. They would only lock him up in a mental institution! Worse yet, if he ever did get his powers back and if she wasn't around! This was bad. Very bad. Couldn't he come back sane?

Still he said that he didn't hear the voices when he was near her. So…he would have to stay beside her…

Her mind processed this slowly. Okay, she could handle that, she told herself. After all, he's only human now.

They were making their way across the courtyard when Naraku paused, looking up into the darkening sky.

"What?" Kagome asked, looking up as well.

"There will be a full moon next week." He answered.

"Oh." Was that it? Kagome frowned. Why did that sound so important to them?

-:- -:- -:-

Naraku had deposited Kagome into her room so she could clean up and change. Though he didn't really want to leave her, he wandered downstairs to give her privacy. In the living room, engrossed in some video game, Souta sat on the floor, furiously mashing buttons on the controller.

He watched fascinated at the expressions of concentration on the boy, as well as the fast moving graphics flashing across the screen in masses of blinding color and seizure-inducing light.

"YES! LEVEL 32 CLEARED!" The boy yelled triumphantly, fists held high overhead.

It was then that he noticed his audience. He turned toward Naraku, his jaw dropping at the sight. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CLOTHES!"

Naraku peered at himself. Oh, that. He had forgotten about Kagome clawing at him. She had punctured the shirt and torn holes in several places. There were also dark splotches of blood, some his own when she had broken skin, but most of it was Kagome's, from her crimson tears. "Accident." He shrugged.

Souta's eyes remained comically wide until the man's cool answer registered in his brain. His face scrunched, cheeks puffing in an angry pout. He couldn't yell at him though, since the other man was injured. But he could make it hurt a bit more. He had liked that shirt! "Fine, you stay there! Sit on the couch. I'll be right back!" Souta dashed off to retrieve the first aid kit from the bathroom, making sure they had lots of rubbing alcohol. He was going to make it sting as much as possible!

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome had finished washing up. She had scrubbed at her eyes numerous times until her tears, if she should call them tears, were nothing but a memory. She hoped that she had also washed away any evidence that she had cried. She couldn't cry. She had to be strong now. It was all for the best, she repeated to herself.

She began to change into a set of clean clothes. She had chosen a pair of comfortable jeans, and was halfway into a loose, cotton t-shirt when she felt the unmistakable presence of eyes boring into her. She turned around cautiously. Her eyes widened. SESSHOUMARU!

She managed to stifle a shriek, but she violently, shoved the shirt over herself, backed up, and glared at the peeping inu-youkai.

His expression impassive, Sesshoumaru let himself in through her window. Standing up, he graced her with a look. "Don't misunderstand. I wasn't peeping." He said calmly, slowly walking toward.

Kagome didn't move, even as he began to invade her personal space. She glared at him, hoping that he would turn into a pile of goo that very second. Even if he wasn't peeping, he should have had the sense to not stare at her while she was changing! What happened to chivalry? Any gentleman would have the decency to at least look away! Noooo, instead, he had been staring unblinkingly at her! How creepy was that?

Unfortunately willing Sesshoumaru to burst into flames at her feet took all of her concentration, thus she was unaware of when said youkai was positively breathing down her neck, until he actually was!

"Wha?" She articulated, surprised at how close he had come.

Silently, Sesshoumaru placed both his hands on her shoulders, spinning her around and pinning her against the wall, her arms trapped beneath her. She started when she felt him lifting up the back of her shirt.

"HEY!" She shouted indignantly. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Ignoring her protests, he stared at her back.

She cursed him under her breath, calling him many names he recognized Inuyasha had used, as well as various new ones.

Gently, a clawed finger began to trace over her spider scar. She stiffened. So…that was what he had been staring at. Jeez, he could've just asked her, instead of coming off as a pervert. Heh. Sesshoumaru as a pervert. What if he was a closet pervert? She snickered. Then gasped as she felt him unclasp her bra! OH NO! SHE WAS GOING TO BE MOLESTED BY THE CLOSET PERVERT SESSHOUMARU! SOMEONE HELP HER!

Sesshoumaru raised a brow. What _was_ this girl thinking? He could feel her heart pounding from where he stood. He quickly finished his inspection of the scar. He was pleased. It was still the same size. There was nothing wrong, yet. Still, he would keep a close eye on her. Deftly, he re-snapped her bra and covered her back with the shirt once more.

Once free, Kagome spun around angrily. "What the hell was that for!" She shrieked. "You ARE a pervert aren't you?" She pointed wildly at him. "I was only joking around too! I didn't expect you to really be one! Jeez, who knew? Sesshoumaru is a closet pervert!" She continued to mutter to herself, fully ignoring the youkai she was muttering about.

Sesshoumaru sniffed, more annoyed by her ignoring him than by her calling him a pervert. A scent tickled his senses. He inhaled a bit deeper and frowned. Inuyasha. Though he had been aware that his younger sibling could pass through the well, and he had in fact observed the hanyou from this side of time often pop out of the well to forcefully bring a resisting Kagome back to hunt for shards, it was another fact entirely to be smelling him in her room.

His nose wrinkled slightly. Inuyasha…had been in her room. The thought disturbed him. He took small satisfaction that the hanyou would no longer be able to enter her room though. After all, he had noticed that she had taken his advice and sealed the well.

The memory of it still seared his memory. Five hundred years in the past, he had floated above the well, watching the violent crimson energy. The intensity of the heat and the rawness of that lashing power, he still remembered. The well had fought against her untrained magic, and had lost. He couldn't forget what power her lithe body held, or what realization he had come to so long ago.

"-oumaru?"

He blinked. "What?"

Kagome stared, surprised. Had _Sesshoumaru_ just been spacing out? She his a smile. Well, this era certainly held its surprises. Instead of poking fun at him like she would have with Inuyasha, she repeated the question that had been on her mind since his appearance. It hurt her to ask, and she wasn't really sure if she wanted the answer, but it was something she had to know. "Are there other demons still out there?" She asked quietly. The matter had been weighing heavily on her mind, but she was willing to fight in her time as well, despite how peaceful her life had been. Everything was different now. Everything.

Slowly, Sesshoumaru's expression changed. It melted into that neutral face Kagome had been quite familiar with in the past. She realized something was up. Dread welled up within her.

"I…have to go now Kagome. I'll be back in a few hours." He said slowly, carefully.

Kagome stared at him puzzled. Was he…feeling alright?

Inside, Sesshoumaru was cursing himself. How had he forgotten? They would try to kill him, key word being _try_. But still, their hearts would be in it. Before Kagome could open her mouth to inquire, he was out her window.

Kagome huffed. Really. What was with that youkai? Stark raving mad, she was sure. She sighed. Whatever. She found it hard to care about the quirks of one odd Taiyoukai when she had her own pressing problems, mainly, taking care of her arch nemesis-turned-human-housemate. Speaking of which, she would have to find him a room of his own. Bunking in the same bed was just plain weird.

She meandered down the stairs to find out what trouble he had immersed himself in while she was gone, to discover that he was seated on the couch beside her brother. Souta was completely engrossed in his game, body bent foreward, arms tilted as he frantically pressed buttons and jiggled the little joysticks on his controller. The tip of his tongue poked out of his mouth as he stared, with great concentration, at the screen. Next to him, looking more confused that ever, Naraku sat, hands on the controller, his fingers working just as quickly as Souta's, but by the looks of it, he was winning.

"ARRG!" Souta threw his hands up in defeated frustration. "HOW! I've been playing this for weeks! I stood in line for _hours_ just to get this game when it came out, and you STILL beat me! HOW?" He stared suspiciously at Naraku. "You can't be human."

"He's perfectly human." Kagome interjected, before Naraku could get the wrong idea. "You just suck." She said with a smirk.

Immediately, Souta's expression turned challenging. "Sit." He said, no trace of his usually shy or cheerful persona left. Video games were his life. Kagome should know better.

She took the only seat left, next to Naraku, which sandwiched the man in between the siblings. She shot a confident smirk toward her younger brother, who only raised his brows, silently saying 'as if.' The controller was slid from Naraku's loose grasp into Kagome's, and the game began anew.

-:- -:- -:-

The room temperature seemed to drop a few degrees as he entered. Across the way, a dark colored door stood, sealed. He was almost hesitant to open it, knowing full well what he would be bombarded with once he cracked the powerful seals. The youkai on the other side, although weaker than himself, were still none to be trifled with.

Sesshoumaru slit through the paper slips with his claw and was nearly blown back when the door erupted in an inferno of blue foxfire.

"SESSHOUMARU…YOU **BASTARD!**"

Two very angry youkai stalked out, viciously stomping over the remains of the door into invisible ash.

"You _forgot_ didn't you! You _forgot_ about us! You left us in there for _THREE DAYS_! What the hell were you doing for _THREE DAYS!_" They raged in surprising harmony.

"He gets a whiff of something, locks us in a bloody closet, and ups and leaves us without a damn word! We could have been there until we rotted! What the fuck!" They continued, not allowing any room for Sesshoumaru to defend himself against their verbal asault.

"Probably stalking some female, like the pervert dog he is!"

"Mutt."

"Bastard."

"I found her." He said quietly.

Both youkai froze, staring at him. Then their tempers exploded. "PEVERT! Just _what_ have you been doing with her _alone_ for **three days**?"

Without waiting for an answer, the youkai were suddenly scrambling over each other in a rush to get to the door.

A soft chuckle from the doorway stilled their movements. "Shippou, Kouga, perhaps it would be best if you calmed down a bit before going to see her. It's been over five hundred years. Both of you have changed much in that time. I hardly think she'd recognize you, and two strange youkai rushing toward her, I think that she'd think she were under attack."

The two youkai wilted, looking abashed. "Well, we just wanted to see her."

A fanged grin. "Besides, I think one of us has some explaining to do." Blank topaz eyes gazed out toward Sesshoumaru, who stared back impassively. "Isn't that right, brother?"

Sesshoumaru gave an uncommitted snort.

It was something he could never have forgotten. Her fiery eyes, the way she had held herself, forced herself to ask him. She had made him swear. He couldn't interfere. She had been hiding something from him, he was positive. But she wouldn't even hint as to what had happened on that night, only that it had needed to happen. It left him feeling doubtful. She was putting herself in unnecessary danger for a soul which should have been consumed by darkness long ago.

For certain, things were strange, watching events pass on this side of the well. There was very little he could do, or could have done to help her in this time. Had he approached her sooner, before the Kagome of the past had been sure of his allegiances, she might mistake his attitude in the past, and he was sure that he would have killed her.

No, he wanted no harm to befall her. And she could not know what was to happen. So he had to reappear before her when she would be ready for him and his knowledge that she had imparted to him on that one last trip through the well. So he had waited for the one moment, the soonest possible moment to reappear. It was just his luck that with her, came _him_.

He only hoped that he would be able to manipulate certain things. She had been mated, he knew. By the time she had gone through the well, a male had claimed her. He suppressed the possessive streak that ran through him. She had shown him the mark, but it had been one he was unfamiliar with. She had told him that the mark had changed on her skin, her own twisted powers warping it so that it was unrecognizable. To this day, she had kept secret who her mate had been.

The Kagome that was here now, would most likely stutter and blush over the idea of a mate. But soon, the decision would be made for her. He growled inwardly. There were only two beings in this era capable of becoming her mate, himself and _him_. He would somehow have to ensure that the other was made unavailable for that.

He now knew what he wanted, as he had learned too late five hundred years ago, but he would not let it slip through his claws a second time.

He grinned wickedly.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome sighed, it had been a week since Sesshoumaru had disappeared so abruptly. She hadn't known what it meant, but her life had just become a bit more boring in her mind.

Dinner dishes were pressed into her hands, and she carefully handed them over to Naraku, who, strange as it may have been, was actually setting the table. Perhaps the weirdest thing was how quickly she had become used to his presence, enough where the household had resituated itself to include in him daily chores. No one seemed to mind that at one point, he had been a homicidal, lunatic hanyou bent on revenge and power. And Kagome was perfectly happy with that. She would rather live in the present than dwell on the misery of the past.

Surely, trying to dig up those unpleasant memories would have repercussions, but she couldn't help sliding a sideways glance toward the man who was so intently setting the table. What had truly happened through the well, she didn't know. She wasn't even sure of what had happened to her, much less how he had been affected. What would happen if he started to remember?

Naraku had paused, as if feeling her gaze, but instead of turning toward her, his head swiveled toward the window. "It's the last night." He murmured. Then his crimson gaze met hers, almost sadly. "Tomorrow night, the moon will begin to wane." There was a note of pleading in his voice, but for what, Kagome couldn't begin to fathom.

-:- -:- -:-

The room was heady with the scent of apprehension. The air lay thickly on the four demons, who sat rather stiffly around a table.

Kouga tapped his foot impatiently. "How much longer?" He demanded irritably.

"Until the full moon has waned two nights." Was the cryptic reply.

"Why?"

"Because she said so." Shippou replied tartly. He was impatient as well, but he at least had better control of himself. Why couldn't that wolf just take a break? He had been snapping at them all week. They all wanted to see Kagome, but this, for whatever reason, came first. Sesshoumaru had insisted upon it.

"Relax." A calm voice cut in before things could escalate. "The air is practically humming from here. You guys can't feel it, but I can. We can wait a bit longer. She's in no danger."

"You would know that, wouldn't you." Kouga bit out sourly. Even with all the time that had passed, he had difficulty in trusting the speaker. After all, he had been wrong many times before, especially about _her_.

"Things have changed." The voice replied coolly, with no hint of malice. "We can wait."

Shippou sighed, standing and walking toward a window. Just how long would they have to wait? They had waited this long already. He parted the curtains. "Just a bit longer you said?" He asked, his voice hopeful. He couldn't help feeling childish. It was Kagome they were talking about. How long could they possibly stay away from her? She drew them together, toward her, whether they wanted to or not, as he was sure the demons in the room would testify to that. Even Naraku had little say. Though on her part, he knew, the attraction had been unconscious. She hadn't meant to gather them like she did, but at the same time, she would never regret it.

A slow nod was his answer.

He sighed again, head bowing in resignation. Then, as if a thought had just struck him, the ginger-haired fox demon swung his head suddenly. "By the way, Sesshoumaru," he began, staring at the impassive inu-youkai. "You never did tell us what would happen tomorrow night that would require us to keep our noses out of it."

The pale haired demon seemed to rouse himself from his languid stupor. "Kikyou's prophecy will finally come to light." He said softly.

-:- -:- -:-

She couldn't explain it, but Kagome had been edgy all day. The trepidation had slowly but steadily grown within her until she could no longer ignore it. This night, something was going to happen. She had gone in search of Naraku, worrying and wondering if he had felt it too, though something told her that he had. Strangely, she couldn't find him anywhere.

Her anxiety grew as the sun began to dip below the horizon. She was beginning to feel colder. She briefly wondered where Sesshoumaru was. She took small comfort in the fact that, had Naraku become dangerous again, he would no doubt reappear. There was little love lost between them, even now, as she had seen in their previous encounters.

Thankfully her family were all asleep in their beds. She didn't want them watching her as she had a breakdown over what might be nothing. The hanyou body was still new to her, she admitted to herself. She wasn't sure over all of its little quirks just yet, and it wasn't like there was someone she could ask about it.

Absently, she raised her hands to rub at her shoulders, trying to rub warmth back into them. She was feeling…funny, like she was weakening, and yet, she was getting stronger too. It was something like being drained, but then being filled with something different. She sneezed. Perhaps she was becoming ill? Did hanyous even become ill? She wasn't sure, though she had never seen Inuyasha get sick.

It was then that she noticed her hands. Her fingers had tapered off into slender fingertips, blunt and clawless. She stared at them. Her vision swam. What was going on? Then it clicked. A hanyou had one time a month when their demon powers were sealed, hidden by their human blood. She could have slapped herself, how could she have forgotten? After all that time with Inuyasha and his worrying, they had always kept track of what night he would transform. In her new body, she of course would have to go through the same thing.

For a moment, her mind reeled, she was becoming human once more. Was this what it was, that strange feeling all week? It had to have been, but…her eyes clenched shut, why had Naraku been feeling odd as well. He had seemed more aware of it than she had. Something was wrong about this transformation. No, something was different…

Then, the familiar pull of power. A resonating energy. She pounced on it. It was something she remembered. Though only a little over a week had passed since she last felt it, she thought it had seemed much longer. She blinked, her body readjusting to the change. Her purifying powers were resonating with her once again. When she had awoken as a hanyou, she feared that she wouldn't feel that comfortable thrum of energy within her anymore, but here it was!

She closed her eyes and relaxed. This was something she could deal with. For the most part, she had been untrained, but in her time in the Sengoku Jidai, Kaede had done her best to teach Kagome concentration, a way to focus her powers. She breathed deeply, almost happily as the dark youkai energy drained from her. With every breath, she could feel more like herself, no longer a stranger in her own body. Her human body was weak and fragile, but she would take it, as it was the one she had been born with, the body her parents had graced her with. She fell into the ease of her own body with a grace that had surprised even her.

The corners of her lips curled downward as she felt a light tugging on her chest. That was odd. She placed a hand over her heart, feeling its reassuring beat. Just below her fingers, she could feel the tug, pulling with each beat. She stared at her chest, willing for whatever it was that was pulling to materialize.

Then she could see it, a dark strip of energy, attached to her chest at one end, the other leading away somewhere. That was certainly different. She was sure she had never seen anything like it coming from Inuyasha on his nights. She followed it, unsure of what she would find on the other side.

Her feet carried her swiftly through the house and to the closed door of her own room. She hesitated, suddenly wishing for a bow. She was unarmed in this era, she had to remember, but she wasn't completely helpless. She reached out slowly, turning the knob and peering inside.

Naraku sat, lounging on her bed, his crimson eyes glittering in the darkness. The dark energy swirled about his form, seeping into his body. He didn't seem to notice, his eyes riveted onto hers. His lips turned upward in a cruel mockery of a smile.

"Ah, miko. So good of you to join me."

-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

-:- -:- -:-

SM: It has been a while since I updated this, but it's slow going, this one. I have it all, err...mostly planned out, but I wanted this to have nice long chapters. I'm getting there, but this one was a bit of a struggle. More stuff will be happening in the next chapters. This one was a bit boring, I'll admit. Meh. But at least it's finally been flushed out. Ah, this is probably really error-ridden as well. It took me forever to be satisfied with its length, and in the end, I was too tired to proof-read it closely. I'll post a cleaned up version when I have more energy...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Kagome's stomach plummeted to her feet. She felt as if her heart had stopped. That voice. Those eyes. That cruel, cutting tone. It was Naraku, the one she remembered, the one she had thought had been left in the past. How…?

She swallowed visibly, nervously, but still managed to gather her power. Her eyes narrowed. What could she do? Attack him? Defend herself? What about her family? This wasn't the Sengoku Jidai. Random youkai battles couldn't burst out of no where. She needed a plan or at least she needed to understand what was going on right now.

Naraku smirked, gliding effortlessly toward her tense form. "Greetings, miko." He hissed, almost jovially into her ear. His eyes slid to her hands, which were clenched tightly. He carefully steered clear of the bright blue aura surrounding her fists, which occasionally sparked outward. His crimson eyes slitted. "I must admit, this is a rather strange meeting." He circled around her, almost predatorily. "No ill intentions I assume? Or did you plan on attacking me?"

Yes, it had been on her mind. But first and foremost, she wanted to avoid a conflict, especially in her damn bedroom! Why did awkward things just happen to happen in her room? It hardly seemed fair! She barely noticed that the fog of his concentrated power remained floating over her bed, still tethered to the both of them.

He withdrew himself, backing up a few feet. His lips twisted. "Miko." He spat.

She stared at him silently. She couldn't think of a single thing to say. _Please don't murder my family in cold blood for revenge_? Somehow, she felt that he would be highly disagreeable on that. He certainly didn't look too happy. Things had changed drastically since last they met. She didn't want to hurt him. But beyond that and protecting her family, her mind supplied no other helpful suggestions besides keeping herself alive as well.

Her stoic lack of response caused an inexplicable flash of irritation to streak through him. His face contorted for a moment before he managed to smooth out his expression.

Kagome was puzzled. Naraku wasn't normally so uncontrolled…Then it hit her. He was _afraid_. She realized that he must not remember what had happened since their last battle, else things would have been much more…awkward considering that they had slept in the same bed for a few nights. She valiantly fought the rising blush on her cheeks. "Look, I can explain." She began hesitantly. It had to be disorienting to find himself in a different place and in a vastly different situation than from what he last remembered.

He scowled at her, recognizing what conclusions she must have reached. Then he was on top of her, pinning her to her bed. His hands curled tightly around her wrists. He wasn't _afraid_ of anything, especially not _her_. He snarled into her face. "What trickery _is_ this, miko?" He demanded, his hands moving, closing vice-like around her neck. "Where am I? Why cannot I remember what has happened since last we met?"

She glared at him, her lips thinning. The madman had returned. She could see it in his eyes. He was unstable, the wants and desires of fifty demons rolled up within one obsessive human's consciousness. He was a mass of confliction. She couldn't reason with him at the moment, but she would make it so that she could. He wasn't a bad person at heart, this she knew.

Kagome had learned long ago that tugging fruitlessly on the arm that was intently strangling her was pointless. At the moment, her neck was only in a tight grasp, meant to be threatening but not harmful, but she couldn't trust him, not yet. She needed to show him that she wasn't powerless here. She wouldn't bow down to his demands. Things were _different_ here.

In retaliation, she clenched her eyes shut, focusing her powers on her hands and reached upwards. She didn't even have to touch him, the merest brush of her aura would cause him pain. Above her, she heard him hiss, his own hands tightening around her neck. She gasped as her windpipe was being crushed. Her eyes watered. Damn it, he was choking her in earnest now, stubborn bastard. Still, she didn't want to harm him.

Her fingers curled into fists. Blue light condensed. Her hands snapped open. Her aura flared around her fingers, whipping outward.

She heard a cry and then suddenly the pressure lessened.

Naraku was slammed across the far wall. Kagome's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't meant to do that. Maybe sting him a little, just enough to let her go. She rushed over to the crumpled hanyou, her first instinct being to check if he was alright.

Crimson eyes snapped open to glare at her angrily, freezing her in place. His lips twisted into a scowl. "Stay away from me." He hissed lowly, hatred dripping from every syllable.

He slowly recollected himself, folding his arms and legs into the comfortable languid position he had been so fond of at the Hikaru castle. Kagome moved back slightly, but did not stray too far from his side. It was unnerving. She was…fussing over him, for reasons he couldn't begin to comprehend. His last memories had been of blinding light and horrible pain, and it had been because of _her_.

A hurt expression on her face, Kagome retreated back. She had almost forgotten how cold and reserved Naraku had been. Just a week with an amnesiatic nemesis, and she had already fallen into far too comfortable a routine with him. She felt…distressed that he looked at her so hatefully. She almost missed the unguarded looks that the Naraku she had brought with her had given her.

His eyes narrowed onto her form. She had bent herself against the far wall. She appeared…anguished? A corner of his lips twitched. She was such a fool. He couldn't believe that he, in all of his power, and the might of the Shikon, had fallen to such a little, foolish girl. It was detestable. Worse yet, it appeared that he was _still_ at her mercy. He growled his displeasure, almost smirking as she jumped. Even if she had the power to control the situation, she had neither the strength of will or the mindset. He had fifty years of experience on her. He would not let it go to waste.

Naraku calmly smoothed the lines of tension from his face. "Miko," he began, almost amicably, as if he had not been trying to strangle her mere minutes before. "Explain to me this," he gestured with his hand. He reached out, as if beckoning, and curled his fingers toward himself.

Kagome saw the cloud of dark energy bend toward him, thin rivulets of darkness slithering toward his fingers. They coiled about his arm. But, as the energy obeyed him, she noted that he seemed…untouched by it. The power did not taint his aura. It responded to him, but did not bond with him, as youki should. It was as if an invisible barrier kept him from accessing his powers. She gave an inward sigh of relief. At least, for the moment, she was assured that he could not go out on a rampage. Even if his body was youkai, he was almost as limited as a human. She had the advantage. She realized almost right afterward, she didn't know what to do with it.

What _would_ she do? Tie him up? Yell at him for being a bastard in the Sengoku Jidai? Demand that he do all her chores for a month? No, those didn't sound too helpful, or plausible given the current situation. She settled for answering his question. "I don't know."

Okay. So, maybe she wasn't exactly informative in that. Silence might have been better considering the dark look he flashed her. She flushed. "I meant, I'm not completely sure." She continued, flustered. "I think that I…absorbed you. I know it sounds creepy. I wasn't planning on it. But when I went to you, my powers…and a lot of light, your body…" She broke off her incoherent babble to take a deep breath. She managed to calm herself. Really, she wasn't sure what about him had made her so nervous. But she hadn't wanted him to…to what?

"I think your powers don't recognize you as their owner any more. They respond to your will, but that's all." She said in one breath.

"Return them to me." He demanded icily.

_Uh…how about no? I don't want you running amuck in my time_. Wisely, she kept such thoughts to herself. "I can't." She replied.

He glared at her. "You won't." He corrected.

She stared at him indignant. "No, I mean I _can't_ you pompous buttmunch!" She slapped a hand over her own mouth. She couldn't believe that she'd said something like that to _him_ of all people. But he just made her so frustrated. It wasn't like she wasn't trying to figure things out. It was all so new to her. Did he have to glare at her as if she'd stolen something from him? If it weren't for her he'd be nothing more than purified demon ash. You'd think a demon could learn to show a bit of gratitude. Her mind flashed back to Sesshoumaru and his rather affectionate gratitude. She paled. Sesshoumaru's idea of gratitude was almost scary.

Naraku raised a brow, almost puzzled by her attitude toward him. "Is that so?" He purred. He watched as she stiffened, her pallor white as a sheet. She still knew fear. Even if he was in a useless, powerless body, she was still a naïve young girl, unknowing of the uses of the power she possessed. He could use her.

His crimson eyes peered past her, through the glass of her window. The moon had already begun to sink. Had so much time already passed? He growled. He would fade again, he knew, lost in a wash of white, without feeling or memory.

It did him no good to know that he would be near her during that time. He despised the weaknesses inherent in this body, in his own personality. It seemed that he _needed_ to be beside her, and not simply to be near his own soul, but hers. It was disgusting. He needed no one. Yet he yearned to be with her, to be by her side. The closer the moon came to the horizon, the more he wanted to approach her, to touch her.

Revolting.

His lips curled back, baring fangs at her. "Do _not_ touch me." He hissed at her as he felt his powers fade from his presence.

Kagome looked at him, troubled. What had she done now to provoke such hatred? Well, besides from trying repeatedly to kill him in a previous life. But he had done the same to her on more numerous occasions. Something told her that this time around, it had to do with something completely different. His anger was directed more toward himself that toward her, but at the moment she was his only outlet. Naraku was a perplexing creature, so full of contradictions. She didn't think that he truly knew what he really wanted, but his other personality might figure it out.

She almost gasped. What would happen now to the other Naraku? Before she could contemplate it further, a wash of heat descended on her. She let out a sharp gasp, her back arching, eyes opened wide. Darkness flooded her, igniting her holy powers into action. Her body became alight with the combatant energies, heat clawing outward. Her jaw clicked shut as her head snapped backward. The heat intensified, scorching her from the inside out.

Across the room, Naraku appeared no better, but whereas power was rushing into her, he looked to have been drained. His body had collapsed, sliding bonelessly to the floor as nothing more than a mere ragdoll. His eyes blinked once before closing halfway, his crimson orbs glazed. His eyes sharpened momentarily before frosting over. His lips parted slightly, panting.

Kagome released a soft whimper as ice poured through her core, enveloping her senses until she fell into darkness.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome awoke to the sensation of warm sunlight streaming down on her face. She winced, turning over and burying herself further beneath the covers. She shot up suddenly. What? Her eyes snapped open, breath coming out in quick short pants.

She was in her bed…but how? Someone had moved her…

She scanned the room with her studious crimson gaze. The room, it looked…neat. Too neat. That was not how she had left it last night.

In the corner, curled up within the shadows, she saw Naraku. He stared back with wide eyes, before bowing his head, not saying a word. The other Naraku had returned.

Kagome slipped from the bed, approaching him slowly, warily. She was unsure of what to do now. After what had happened last night, how could she proceed knowing that he was still a potential danger. He shied away from her as she drew closer.

"Naraku?" She called out tentatively.

He hunched down on himself.

She reached out a hand. "Are you alright?"

He turned his head as if her touch would harm him. She could make out the corners of his mouth pulled downward in a deep frown. "I hurt you." He said softly.

"What?" She looked at him, confused. He had done nothing, well, technically it wasn't really this personality that had done anything.

He pointed, almost accusingly, at her neck. She turned to her mirror and was startled to see the dark purple bruises marring her white flesh. Well, it appeared this hanyou body could get hurt. And knowing that Inuyasha's bruises disappeared within the hour, she guessed that when she was human, or maybe if it was Naraku that hurt her, her wounds would heal at her normal human rate. She returned her gaze to the other man. "It's nothing," she said, waving it off. "It'll heal."

"I still hurt you." He said softly, but adamantly. "I don't like it." He shuddered, remembering the cold hatred that he had felt toward her, and he didn't understand why. He didn't want to hurt her. He disliked seeing her hurt. So why had he tried harm her?

Kagome blinked. "Wait, you _remember_ what happened last night?" She asked.

He nodded.

Kagome stared. That was weird, this Naraku remembered what happened, but the other one, he hadn't known what had happened when his other personality was out. She shook her head. This was getting confusing. She needed to name them, Naraku-1 and Naraku-2 maybe…?

The important thing was, neither of them had complete sets of memories. That had to be indicative of something. She decided that she'd worry about it later, perhaps when Naraku was a bit less forlorn looking. He just looked so depressed, Kagome almost smiled. He was so much like a little kid. She crossed the room without much thought, kneeling beside him. She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it." She smiled. "It wasn't your fault at all."

The corners of his mouth tugged downward. He said nothing in reply, but his eyes never once left her neck.

It was when she heard her mother calling them down for breakfast when the pair finally roused themselves from their respective positions. Kagome stood stretching and prepared to change into her day clothes.

Naraku silently tottered toward the room he was given.

She noted belatedly that although they had bought clothes for him in the last week, she had forgotten that her own body had changed drastically, and that she could barely fit into most of her current clothing. She sighed, raking a claw through her hair. Well, she guessed it was time to go shopping.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome zipped the collar all the way up until the zipper was nestled snugly just beneath her chin. She looked at herself in the mirror. Although the vest had a high collar, to hide her throat, it was sleeveless, so walking outside in the heat with it on shouldn't be too strange. The problem was the rest of her appearance.

She had to face it, there simply were not that many six feet tall women prancing about Japan. Heck, she even stood a full head and shoulders above some men. But maybe her height wasn't _that _bad. Sesshoumaru would still forever tower over her and even the human Naraku was taller. So, her height wasn't really that much of a problem.

But the rest of her looks…

To strangers, her eyes she could pass of as contacts, and her hair could be excused as she liked it long, but she still retained some features that were distinctly 'Kagome.' Her friends would be hard-pressed to not notice the similarities if she tried to play the part of someone else.

Kagome's face was had remained the round, heart-shaped face of youth, despite being slightly elongated to fit her hanyou appearance. Her voice had deepened and become more melodious and rhythmic, but her speech pattern was the same. Even if the way she moved was graceful, she couldn't overcome her inherent klutziness. The truth was, someone out there in Tokyo could recognize her, and what the hell would she do if someone did?

She had only gone out once before, and that had been with Naraku. Thankfully enough, they looked enough like one another to be passed off as siblings, but if she went out with her mother or younger brother, that would be more difficult to explain.

That really left her with little choice. She had wanted to go shopping with her friends to hopefully pick out something that would suit her new look, but she had yet to figure out how to explain her recent appearance. Still, as self-conscious as she was, she needed _someone's_ opinion on her clothes, at least when she bought them. Once she owned them, she cared almost nothing about what people thought, it was the buying of the clothes that was the real hurdle.

She sighed, pulling a white knit beanie over her head and wondering if Naraku was up for a trip to the mall.

-:- -:- -:-

Shippou sighed. Inuyasha was gone again, but he knew exactly where the hanyou had went. There were only about three different places he bothered spending any amount of time any more; the Goshinboku, the well, and the place where the kotodama had disintegrated.

It was a random spot in the village, a few meters from Kaede's hut. They hadn't made it that far before the necklace had just…been destroyed. Inuyasha could often be seen moping around the area. Shippou remembered that horrific moment. Kagome's spiritual powers had been infused within the necklace, reacting with the violence of her emotions when commanded. With her spirit gone, the necklace could no longer exist. It was the final signal, the marking of her leave, and Inuyasha had realized it.

Inuyasha's heart had sank at that moment, wild panic pushing aside his rationale. Kagome was gone, she was leaving forever, and the last words he had given her were of scorn and mistrust. Would she live out her entire life believing that he no longer cared about her? It was unbearable to the hanyou.

If only the well worked. If only he could pass through and tell her. He needed her to know that he was sorry, so very sorry, and that he loved her. It hurt to know that he loved her and have her be out of reach. He really, truly loved her, and he learned it after she was gone. Seeing her love shining out of someone else's eyes made him realize that he didn't want to see that expression on anyone else's face but hers. Kikyou adored him now, but that had only been what he thought he wanted. He knew now that he wanted Kikyou's forgiveness, not her love.

All along, Kagome had traveled with him knowing that he had bound himself to Kikyou with a promise. She knew that he would not be hers to love, but she loved him anyways, wholly and unconditionally. He had brushed her aside with shallow words, brandishing that promise in Kagome's face, and yet, she had not wavered. They were petty and poor excuses, Inuyasha being unable to accept another person's love just yet. Kagome had always been there for him, caring for him when no one else did. It was a gift he took for granted.

Kikyou watched him quietly. She knew that she could not replace Kagome. They were too different. She bowed her head. She also knew that Kagome had not intended her gift to cause pain, she had thought that it was what Inuyasha had wanted. But Kagome had been wrong for it was not 'Kikyou' that Inuyasha needed, it was Kagome.

It was almost ironic how Kagome's gift had caused the suffering she had tried to prevent.

-:- -:- -:-

"Na-ra-kuuuu!" Kagome sang out, throwing the door to his room wide open. "Want to go out with me?" She said smiling, hands folded behind her back, eyes open wide in the most sincere and innocent expression she could muster.

He regarded her silently from the corner of his room. He had been feeling guilty since he had awoken with those terrible memories of that night. He didn't want to be near her in case he hurt her again. He shrank back slightly.

Kagome gave an exasperated sigh. He'd been in there all morning, no doubt guilt-tripping about events he couldn't control. It wasn't his fault! But…it must hurt him to think that even if it wasn't his mind, it was still a part of him that had wanted to hurt her. It was a scary thought. She walked over and knelt beside him. He buried his face in his arms.

"Aw, now don't be like that. C'mon I want to spend the day with you. Go out with me?" She asked smiling, tilting her head to the side to try to peer in between his crossed arms.

"…I think it's better if you go without me." He said softly, his voice slightly strained. He _did_ want to go with her!

"I don't think so. It'll be boring by myself." She reasoned. "Besides, I need someone to give me a second opinion on my clothes." She grinned. "Come oooon. I know you want to come with me. And I want you to come with me." She could see his resolve weakening.

He uncurled slightly. "But…what if I hurt you again?" He asked worriedly. Her safety was forthright in his mind.

"You won't." She said confidently. "I trust you." She gave him a reassuring smile, holding out her hand.

He stared at it. She couldn't imagine what she was offering him, and he worried that she was unaware of the repercussions. She was _forgiving_ him! She was forgiving the person who hated her, who hurt her! How could she do that when he couldn't even forgive himself?

His eyes focused on hers with startling intensity. "I want a different name." He said suddenly.

"Um…" Kagome's eyes widened at the abrupt change of topic. "Alright. What would you like to be called?" She asked.

"I want you to name me." He replied. She had to see. He wanted her to see that he wouldn't be Naraku. No, he was someone…someone else, but he just couldn't figure out who. Whatever the case, he didn't want to be Naraku. He wanted to be a person who wouldn't hurt her because…he…she made him feel well… She wouldn't understand what he felt for her, but he wanted her to know that he was different.

_He's serious_. Kagome stared at him. He really wanted a different name. Why? A new name…? It would mean a lot for him to take on a new name. Kagome could not imagine his situation. This Naraku was a completely different person, a blank slate almost. He had remembered nothing. His name had been the only thing he had woken up with, it was all he had that might have connected him to a past he knew nothing about. It should have been the most important thing to him, but after witnessing his previous self, he had found that he would rather be a different person than try to be who he once was. It was strange, but he was earnest. She had to respect that much.

Kagome's face became thoughtful. "Anything?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Hajime." She answered simply. _Beginning_

He wanted a new beginning, to distance himself from 'Naraku.' He didn't like Naraku at all. She found that she couldn't blame him, but she wondered how Naraku would take it when they met again next month. Speaking of which, she needed to plan for what she would do for the next time she transformed. As far as she could tell, it had been on the first night of the waning moon. She would have to keep that in mind.

Something flickered in his eyes, but it was gone before Kagome could place it. He nodded again. "Okay." He took her hand. "Let's go shopping."

-:- -:- -:-

Shippou stood with his hands on his hips. "Inuyasha." He called out, frowning. He was just sitting there! Doing absolutely nothing! He wouldn't get anything done that way. Why didn't he see that?

The hanyou didn't move. He didn't even acknowledge the voice of the kit. He had moped about the 'spot' for hours before retreating back to his usual perch within the boughs of the Goshinboku, leaving behind the youkai kit with worried green eyes.

The Goshinboku was the last place where he could still scent her. Her scent was laced deep within the subtle magic surrounding the God Tree, forming the seamless and powerful barrier which protected both the forest and village from malicious intent. The Goshinboku, the silent guardian of the Shikon, and his last link to Kagome.

He missed her, so much.

He bent his head between knees, his hands on his legs. Wallowing in self-pity had been the only thing he had decided he was good at. He had never been right, ever, about Kagome or Kikyou. He hadn't understood what love was, what that to-die-for warmth, soul wrenching pain and heartache was. He had only known guilt and hurt and the most shallow of affection.

He had barely known a mother's love. Never known a father's love. He had never experienced the love of another. So how could he recognize and name true love when it was staring him in the face? He had based all of his assumptions on the first person who had cared for him. But he knew now, that the emotions he had shared with Kikyou were not that of love, but of lovers. Both had been inexperienced in passion and had approached each other with only the purest of intentions. With no warnings or caution, and with complete trust in each other, they had been torn apart by the malice of Naraku, preying on their inherent weaknesses.

Inuyasha, borne into a world where he would never belong, neither humun nor demon.

Kikyou, a woman born with responsibilities that made her both more and less human.

They were never truly meant for happiness together.

He saw that now, as he saw and understood everything, always too late. There had only been one who had loved _him_ as both a companion and as a person. One who had loved him just as he was, and not who he could become. Only one, and she would be forever beyond his grasp unless he did something about it.

Above him, unnoticed by the moping hanyou, a pair of golden eyes watched him, and contented himself with the lingering scent of the Goshinboku. The hanyou could very well act upon his want of the girl's return, though it would be selfish of him to do so. Kikyou lived now, with emotions more painful than she could ever imagine, in the guise of love.

But she would die a mortal's death, just as the houshi and the taijiya would. He had no doubts over his own existence in the future, he had no plans on getting himself killed. The kit, young as he was, had plenty of time to grow, and he too would live to see the ages. But of Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru had his reservations. Would Inuyasha live to see her again? Could he?

Five hundred years was a long time for any creature, much less a hanyou. It might be possible for Inuyasha for the true lifespan of a hanyou was still unknown. He would leave the hanyou be, and see what came of it.

Kagome was his only concern.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome found herself more self-conscious than she had expected. She pulled her beanie down over her head further, almost pressing up against Hajime who walked beside her. For his part, Hajime either didn't mind her bodily intrusion, or was too fascinated by the mall to care. Though he had been to the mall once before, his head twisted and turned trying to take in all the colored signs and noisy displays as possible. She briefly wondered if he would try to sprout more eyeballs just to see the place better.

She lead him into a specialty store, it being one of the few which would carry clothing in her size. Had she shopped anywhere else, she was sure she would be too tall to fit. It saddened her somewhat to lose some of her favorite places to shop. She had been quite fond of her t-shirts and jeans stores, simple and cheap.

Now she would have to pay outrageous sums of money simply so that she wouldn't run around naked, or be forced to wear her sheets like a toga. She sighed. At least she had some savings from her lack of a social life during school. The feudal era had safely prepared her for the life of a miser, as she had all this money saved, and not a chance to spend it.

She sighed as she idled her way through the racks, occasionally fingering an article of clothing which caught her eye. A corner of her lip turned downwards as she doubted that she would look good in any of it, no matter how nice it was. This was a designer boutique. It would suck her of her money, and leave her with garish form-fitting, but obtrusively unsightly clothing, she was sure. She just didn't have the eye for this sort of thing.

As she was about to turn around in defeat, to retreat home and let her mommy do her shopping, a dark red blouse was thrust in her direction. She took it, looking up. "Hajime…?" Her voice trailed off as she met the gaze of, not her companion, but of amused golden eyes.

"I think darker colors suit you more, Kagome." Sesshoumaru's smooth tenor resounded softly.

She swallowed, eyes darting about for Hajime.

"If you're looking for your…companion, I sent him to the ice cream shop." Sesshoumaru said with a slight lilt, as if annoyed.

"Um, thanks." She replied nervously. She tried to discreetly peer over his shoulder, and she did see Hajime, sitting on a bench outside of the boutique, an ice cream cone in hand, and happily licking away. She smiled. He was such a kid still. So cute.

"Come." Sesshoumaru said, taking her by the arm. "We have clothes to choose for you. We can leave the child to his own devices."

"Wait a sec!" Kagome protested, not at all comfortable with leaving Hajime by himself. But she was ignored as Sesshoumaru pointedly ushered her into different racks of clothing, his sharp eyes picking out clothes for her, and adding them to the growing pile in her arms.

Finally, Kagome stood outside of the changing room, her arms loaded with clothing of varying shades, shapes, and designs, staring bewildered at the smug demon lord. "I can't afford all of this!" She objected.

"Not to worry." He continued, sliding her into the booth, and locking her within it. "Do not come out until you have tried on every single piece. I shall determine what to purchase." He said self-assuredly.

"Hey!" Kagome's indignant shout could be heard from within.

"You came here with him so that he could give you a second opinion, am I not correct?" He asked, a smile in his voice.

Her silence was answer enough.

"He has an untrained eye. Trust in my judgment. The first outfit, if you would." He smirked as he heard her grumbling within. But soon enough, there was the rustle of cloth and the door burst open moments later.

Kagome's frown did nothing to mar his appreciation of how she filled out the outfit. The top was low cut, and a bit too tight for his liking. He wouldn't want her to show that much skin to anyone but him. The skirt was modest enough, falling to the knees with a small slit up one side. The solid burgundy cloth and black embroidery complimented her now darker appearance.

Her eyes bored into his as she agitated a scarf she had hastily tied about her neck. He let it go for the moment, but later he would make sure that if she thought she was hiding anything from him, she was sadly mistaken.

She was no young girl any more. White, as complementary as it had once been to her high school form, was no longer her color.

He nodded. "The color suits you, as does the style. The size is unfitting. We'll have to tailor the top to match your…bust."

Kagome's face flamed. Did he _have_ to say that out loud? Couldn't he have just said that the shirt was too small?

He eyed her torso and legs. "Throw out all of the long sleeves in the selection. Shortened sleeves or no sleeves at all will do. We shall see about the skirts and pants as we go. Next outfit." He pushed her back in before she could get in a word.

ARG! What a frustrating demon! He was pickier than her friends!

By the time he was through with her, it was three hours later, she had been outfitted with an completely new wardrobe plus shoes, for which he paid the entirety of, had become an extremely exhausted hanyou, and found Hajime asleep on the bench outside.

Kagome had no idea what to say to Sesshoumaru. It had been utterly unexpected of him to show up as he did, and as much as she appreciated what he had done, it was three hours of pain that she just wasn't thankful for. But, in gratitude, she had invited him to dinner. He had accepted, and she, with tote bags of clothes in tow, had gone to poke Hajime awake.

"Time to go." She said quietly, smiling as Hajime sat up, rubbing his bleary eyes.

"Now?" He asked before hunching down slightly. "Did _he_ come while I was sleeping?" He asked in hushed tones.

Kagome shook her head. "Not at all. C'mon. Let's get home to some dinner." She extended her hand, bag handles and all, and hoping that Sesshoumaru had not heard Hajime's rather odd question. She wondered briefly if now Hajime would be afraid to sleep because of Naraku. She sincerely hoped not, else she'd be sharing a bed with him every night. That would get awkward.

He nodded sleepily, taking her hand. They started for the street where Kagome had planned to wave down a taxi, but Sesshoumaru stopped them, leading them toward his car.

"This would be faster." He said, unlocking his car with a push of a button on his key chain.

Kagome nodded in thanks, and climbed into the passenger seat as Hajime was let into the back with all of the bags. Once they reached the shrine, Kagome looked up the flights of stairs with a sigh. "I don't wanna deal with this." She muttered before thrusting their purchases at Sesshoumaru. "Here." Then she took Hajime by the hand, wrapped one arm securely around his waist, and with her hanyou strength bounded up the steps. Sesshoumaru followed suit, reaching the top before her.

"Show off." She grumbled before setting Hajime down and recollecting her bags from Sesshoumaru.

The Taiyoukai simply eyed Hajime once before following her into the shrine. Confused, Hajime trailed after them. Was the white-haired guy mad at him? He stepped into the house and taking off his shoes, he went to wash his hands. About to follow Kagome up the stairs, he was stopped at the door by a smiling Sakuya holding a stack of dinner dishes, and without complaint began his chore of setting the table.

-:- -:- -:-

Kagome was wearing the clothes she had left for the mall in, choosing not to parade around in her newer and more expensive wardrobe. With both hands full of bags, she turned around to place them in her room and was startled when Sesshoumaru had begun to unzip her vest. He had waited just long enough to slip into her room after her and close the door before he began. She hadn't even had the chance to put down her bags.

He lowered the zipper enough to reveal her neck.

"Kagome." He said softly, striped hands tracing her bruises lightly. "What is this?"

"Um…" She blushed and stuttered. "Bruises?"

His face impassive, he leveled his steady gaze at her, his hands not once leaving her neck. "From?"

"I had an accident." She squeaked. How could she not be nervous with a demon who had his hands on her neck. She could vividly remember instances in the past when they were both in this same position, and none had been too favorable to her. His expression had always been the same unfeeling countenance each time. It scared her, no matter how much he had changed. When he was serious, he was _scary_.

But this time, she had the eerie feeling that he was mad for some other reason than at her. Maybe he was mad because she was foolish enough to get injured even though she was a hanyou in the modern era?

Claws danced over her skin, stroking the tender flesh of her throat. She swallowed, hoping that one of those sharp and pointy nails wouldn't suddenly dig in. Sesshoumaru leaned in further, his head bent toward her, then angled to the side. "When?" His voice was low and soft, his lips close enough so that she could feel his breath against the shell of her ear as the word left his mouth.

"L-last night." The words spilled from her, fueled by the growing panic in her belly. Damn this guy was CLOSE.

"Who?" His voice was almost a purr.

"Um!" Kagome slid across the wall she hadn't even noticed she was pressed up against. She lifted her own hands to her throat defensively. "It's nothing. It'll heal in time." She squeaked.

His eyes narrowed. She obviously was unwilling to point the finger of blame, although her neck was rank with _his_ scent. Perhaps she had not washed it thoroughly, but he knew that was not the case. Any part of her that had touched _him _took _his_ scent. Her body absorbed it as she had absorbed his powers. Even now though, when there was nothing to hide from him, she would hide what happened on that first night?

The Kagome in his past had not told him, and the Kagome of his present would not tell him now. But he would find out.

He stepped back. "Very well then. You should prepare for dinner. It will be ready soon."

She nodded shakily, grateful that he had backed off, though she wasn't sure why. He left her in silence. She quickly changed into an oversized t-shirt and jeans and scuttled down the steps for dinner. Not once during the meal did she meet the eyes of either Hajime or Sesshoumaru.

-:- -:- -:-

"Hey." Shippou piped. "Though Sesshoumaru said that we can't see her for two nights, and we already waited one night, where did he go tonight?" He asked curiously.

Kouga paused for a moment as Inuyasha chuckled.

"OI! That bastard!" The ookami roared as realization hit him. Sesshoumaru had lied to them to get a night alone with Kagome!

Well, they would change that. Come tomorrow, they would be crashing the shrine!

-:- -:- -:-

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SM: I know, it's been a long wait for an update (since December, yikes!). But, as this fic has unusually long chapters (for me) and is kind of a puzzle in itself (for me) it takes me a while to collect and order my thoughts to write this. I never really did expect this to take any kind of serious note. Oh well. Sorry about the cliffhanger last chapter, that was unexpected for me, but it seemed like a good place to stop at the time. Eh heh heh heh...

Kudos to those who figured out that Human Naraku would have a night to return to his dark and evil Hanyou form. I just thought it would be an interesting thing to do. He seems to have regressed a bit in this chapter, but I'll lay the blame on trauma from evil Naraku's evilness. Later, Hajime will be more mature, and it will turn into a fun SessKagNar free-for-all. Heh. Though, this fic would have better direction if I knew which person I wanted to pair Kagome with. Alas, I have not a clue on that.

This chapter is a bit longer than the previous, so yay for that much. Hope you enjoyed it, and please review if you have the time. I adore your comments and criticism.


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